Subject: Re: Climbing milkweeds

From: [email-masked] (Doug Yanega)
Date: 5 Jan 1995 01:14:38 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]
(Julie K. Stahlhut) wrote:

> Last month, when we were visiting my in-laws in Indianapolis, my husband
> and I found some milkweed seed pods on the otherwise bare remnants of
> climbing vines.  My mother-in-law says that this plant is a minor nuisance
> in their back yard -- it twines itself around the shrubs and trees.
> 
> Does anyone know what this plant is?  I'm assuming it's an Asclepias species.
> We don't want to risk growing it in Michigan (except perhaps in pots, with
> proper population control practiced) if it's not here already, but I was
> wondering if anyone has encountered it, and perhaps noticed Monarch larvae
> and other milkweed-feeding insects on the foliage.
> -- 
> Julie K. Stahlhut, Portable Curmudgeoness    [email-masked]
>                  "A happy Chrimble and a gear New Year!"
>                            --- The Beatles

This plant is indeed a common weed, *Gonolobus laevis* (possibly under a
different generic name nowadays - these things shift around - maybe
Cynanchum or Vincetoxicum). At any rate, it is not an Asclepias, and I'm
not aware of Monarchs feeding on it. Its natural range is listed as "along
river banks and thickets, Pennsylvania to Illinois, Kansas, south to
Florida and Texas", which implies that it might not occur naturally in
Michigan. Other critters besides Monarchs do feed on it, such as the
Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera) and the Oleander Aphid (Aphis nerii),
but I believe it has a slightly different chemistry from true Asclepias
species, and may not be suitable for true milkweed-feeders.
Cheers,
Doug Yanega
Illinois Natural History Survey