A SUNDEW, MILKWWEEDS AND MONARCHS

USCGC SUNDEW

COMMON MILKWEED FLOWERS

MONARCH CATERPILLAR

MONARCH BUTTERFLY (Google Photo)

Sunday 11:00 AM.  72 degrees F at the ferry dock, 69 on the back porch.  The sky is overcast and we have had a shower.  The humidity is 88%,  the barometer stands at 29.91" and is falling, predicting rain showers over the next two days.
  The Coast Guard Cutter Sundew (retired) is visiting Bayfield this weekend, and folks are lining up for tours.  The Sundew was christened in February, 1944 and was decommissioned in 2004. It was given to the City of Duluth, MN, where it was built.  In 2009 the ship was sold to private hobbyists, who take it on tour.  The ship served as a bouy tender, and was also involved in shipwreck rescue.  It is named after the carnivorous sundew plant.
    The common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, in the Milkweed (Asclepiadaceae) Family is blooming. It has a very sweet scent and is the obligatory host for the caterpillar of the Monarch butterfly. Linneus mistakenly thought it to be Asian in origin rather than American, thus the specific name. It has had many herbal and other uses in the past, as have other plants of the genus, which is dedicated to the Greek god of medicine.
  Last summer I saw no monarch butterfly caterpillars feeding on milkweed plants ( their obligate host). There ceertainly were some around, as I saw monarch butterflies, but I didn't come across any, so I was very pleased to find a caterpillar feeding on a milkweed leaf in our yard.  By the time we see monarch butterflies they are  at least the second generation of this year's four generations.  The annual life cycle and migrations of the monarch are amazingly, wonderfully complex, which I will not go into here.

  In any case, I am pleasedto be able to post the photo of the young caterpillar feeding contentedly on the milkweed leaf.