tjwilli222
Milkweed Seed Parachutes_08642
From late October through early November milkweed plants open their seed pods with seeds attached to fluffy white plumes that look like tiny parachutes. The wind captures the seed plumes and some manage to land in suitable locations for planting. This series of images illustrates that beautiful succession of reproduction.
Common Milkweed [Asclepias syriaca] is a U.S. native prairie-grassland plant. It is commonly found in roadside ditches and park preserves, along the borders of farm fields and is becoming popular in residential gardens.
Milkweed is the only source of egg-laying for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and the only food source for the monarch caterpillar larvae. Monarch butterflies feed on the nectar from many flowers and plants, but lay their eggs only on the milkweed. The hatched larvae [a striped caterpillar] feed on the milkweed leaves. Successful pollination and propagation of the milkweed provides nurseries for future generations of monarchs. Ironically this symbiotic interdependence threatens the existence of both the monarch and milkweed. Milkweed plants and monarchs are disappearing due to loss of habitat, stemming from land development and widespread use of herbicides and pesticides on agricultural land and gardens.
myaltonaforest.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/monarchs-and-milk...
www.ramseycounty.us/residents/parks-recreation/tamarack-n...
www.ramseycounty.us/sites/default/files/Parks%20and%20Rec...
Equipment used: Sony SLT-A58 with Sony AF 75-300mm lens on tripod.
DSC08642
Milkweed Seed Parachutes_08642
From late October through early November milkweed plants open their seed pods with seeds attached to fluffy white plumes that look like tiny parachutes. The wind captures the seed plumes and some manage to land in suitable locations for planting. This series of images illustrates that beautiful succession of reproduction.
Common Milkweed [Asclepias syriaca] is a U.S. native prairie-grassland plant. It is commonly found in roadside ditches and park preserves, along the borders of farm fields and is becoming popular in residential gardens.
Milkweed is the only source of egg-laying for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and the only food source for the monarch caterpillar larvae. Monarch butterflies feed on the nectar from many flowers and plants, but lay their eggs only on the milkweed. The hatched larvae [a striped caterpillar] feed on the milkweed leaves. Successful pollination and propagation of the milkweed provides nurseries for future generations of monarchs. Ironically this symbiotic interdependence threatens the existence of both the monarch and milkweed. Milkweed plants and monarchs are disappearing due to loss of habitat, stemming from land development and widespread use of herbicides and pesticides on agricultural land and gardens.
myaltonaforest.wordpress.com/2014/04/30/monarchs-and-milk...
www.ramseycounty.us/residents/parks-recreation/tamarack-n...
www.ramseycounty.us/sites/default/files/Parks%20and%20Rec...
Equipment used: Sony SLT-A58 with Sony AF 75-300mm lens on tripod.
DSC08642