A constant battle, keeping aphids off milkweeds. A welcome guest, the ladybug, as they can eat up to 50 aphids a day. I am happy to say the ladybugs are appearing in every butterfly garden on my milkweed.

When my milkweeds become incredibly infested, I cut them back so new growth will begin, and throw the infested leaf into my horticulture bin for pick up. Although the aphids do not harm the caterpillar, they can deplete nutrients from the milkweed leaf. It seems that the summer time, when it is much warmer, they appear.