A naturally occurring parasite is now threatening these monarch butterflies. It’s a parasite called OE (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha), and it thrives on a plant that, ironically, is mandatory for monarchs’ survival. The plant is milkweed. Pam Murfey, the Panhandle Butterfly House’s Executive Director, knows a lot about the milkweed plant and the microscopic OE spores that live on some of the monarchs in here. I was heartbroken when I read this article about northern Florida monarchs being afflicted by this devastating and fatal microorganism. It appears to be a vicious cycle, because growing the beneficial and life-dependent milkweed plant only exasperates…
We usually have a wealth of butterflies in our yard, but knowing that monarch numbers have been dwindling, we want to do what we can to encourage their continued growth. So, today I bought two different species of milkweed, and I'm excited about the prospects.