Southeast Monarch Milkweed Initiative

12/09/2024

We teamed-up today with The Milkweed Foundation to conduct an emergency plant rescue of a Carolina milkweed (Asclepias cinerea) population from a development in Gulf County. Attached is a picture of the unique root system this milkweed species has, as well as pictures of the numerous other rare species from the site:

Chrysopsis godfreyi - endangered
Chrysopsis linearifolia ssp. linearifolia - endemic
Euphorbia telephioides - Federally threatened
Phoebanthus tenuifolius - threatened

10/21/2024

We have recently learned about ongoing issues with a lot of wildlife being hit on the St. George Island Bridge, notably pelicans. FDOT has indicated that they will not authorize wildlife crossing signage to be installed unless there is data to support the need for it. This area is a high-impact zone for migrating monarchs as well.

We have created an online project in the iNaturalist app specifically for the areas of Franklin County experiencing these largescale wildlife impacts, specifically for the area bridges and roads. This project will collect wildlife impact data that can be submited to FDOT as support/evidence for the installation of signage, roosting structures, etc.

The project can be found here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/apalachicola-bay-bridges-and-roadways

We are not done customizing the project yet and will need a day or so to remove none-DOR (dead on road) observations from the project area. In order for this citizen science project to work, it will require everyone interested in helping to create an iNaturalist account (if they don't have one), and to add yourself to the project. After everyone is added and understands how the project captures and processes images and geodata, it will be very easy for auto collision wildlife impacts to be documented in the relevant area. If anyone wants to meet to view how the project works (on a desktop or smartphone), please let us know - we can talk via email or phone call. Beginning next week, we will begin to earnestly check the bridges every other day, and hopefully others can assist as well. We can devise a schedule that should be easy to handle.

We have set the iNat project to capture DOR data for EVERYTHING that is documented as being injured/killed on the relevant road segments. In addition to bird species, species such as rainbow snakes and ornate diamondback terrapins are being impacted (among other rare species) and it's important to capture this data.

Thank you to everyone for all that is able to contribute to this important project. If we document enough information, FDOT will approve a protection/mitigation plan for the high-impact zones.

This project serves to collect important data about species being influenced or impacted by interactions with bridges, roads, structures, and vehicle collisions across Apalachicola Bay.

05/09/2024

3 species of southeastern native milkweed do not have white sap. Here they are!

Florida Milkweeds, including 21 native species, are conserved through education and conservation. Asclepias, Matelea, Gonolobus, and Funastrum.

05/03/2024

"In the 10 years that we assessed the southeast for native milkweeds, ~89% of roadside populations were 'roadside only.' Within that time, over 50% of these populations have been impacted or lost to herbicide or DOT construction activities."

Florida Milkweeds, including 21 native species, are conserved through education and conservation. Asclepias, Matelea, Gonolobus, and Funastrum.

05/02/2024

A blog discussing the different varieties of butterfly milkweed native to Florida and the surrounding region, where they occur, how to identify them, and how to tell if your nursery is selling a variety not native to your area.

Florida Milkweeds, including 21 native species, are conserved through education and conservation. Asclepias, Matelea, Gonolobus, and Funastrum.

04/30/2024

A comparison of the dicots of three milkweed species germinating in our nurseries this week. The differences in leaf surface texture, length, and shape, are reliable for field identification of these species when observed germinating in the wild.

04/22/2024

Volunteers boosted the milkweed population by planting 150 incarnata for the US Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Seminole on April 20, 2024.

04/08/2024

This article discusses aquatic milkweed, a native, evergreen milkweed that is used by monarchs in native habitats year-round.

Implication:
If OE was initially discovered in Florida in the 1960s, and if aquatic milkweed has been providing evergreen biomass to monarchs and queens since pre-historical times, then there is insufficient (current or historical) data to demonstrate that OE vectors did not naturally occur on these extensive, wild populations of evergreen milkweeds. Periodic hydroperiods in wetlands act as a means of reducing OE burdens on these wild plants.

Exotic milkweed being mass-propagated and spread across the world is a problematic, and has enabled OE to expand; but monarchs and native, evergreen milkweeds have been native to the southeast for much longer than the exotic milkweed problem has existed.

Thank you to the The Milkweed Foundation for assisting us in our data collections.

Florida Milkweeds, including 21 native species, are conserved through education and conservation. Asclepias, Matelea, Gonolobus, and Funastrum.

03/29/2023

Monarch migration news.

Western Monarch Migration Still Slow. Eastern Monarch Migration Picking Up. March 28, 2023 by Team Journey North Endings and beginnings as monarchs leave their overwintering sanctuaries in search of milkweed, nectar, and water. Please report your observations to Journey North. In gratitude, the peop...

11/19/2022

This article is from 2018, but the advice is still relevant. Plant native milkweeds and other pollinator plants for the health of monarchs and other “bugs”. You do no favors to the monarch by planting tropical milkweed.

A 37-year survey of monarch populations in North Central Florida shows that caterpillars and butterflies have been declining since 1985 and have dropped by 80 percent since 2005. This decrease para…