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Nirvana for a Monarch

Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is not as common as it once was. But, it's still common enough, and it is the "nirvana" for Monarch butterflies. They lay their eggs exclusively on milkweeds. Their larvae eat the milky latex sap of milkweeds, a poisonous substance for most animals. Ostensibly, this provides an advantage for the larvae as they become distasteful to birds that may try to eat them.

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Uploaded on August 22, 2012
Taken on July 19, 2011