In our mid-September post we asked Can You Spot the Monarch in the Crowd? The great news is that a few are being spotted here now! In our yard we saw two the first of October and two more yesterday. The photo below shows a monarch on a Georgia Aster, both stunning beauties in need of your help.
Monarch Butterfly on Georgia Aster
While the egg and caterpillar stages of the monarch are restricted to milkweed (the Monarch’s only host plant), adults require other flowers to feed on. Some great fall blooming pollinator-friendly plants are Georgia Aster, Goldenrod, Black-eyed Susan, native Sunflower and Pineapple Sage. [4]
Georgia Asters bloom in October and November providing food for pollinators. They are perennials with woody stems up to 3 feet tall, have thick, dark green leaves and purple flowers ranging from dark purple to lavender-violet to dark reddish purple.
The Georgia Aster is suffering in the wild due to its small, isolated populations and having its natural environment disturbed by humans. [5] Only 146 populations are estimated to remain. [7]
References and Additional Information
[1] The Intown Hawk: Monarch Butterfly
[2] Georgia Native Plant Society: Georgia Aster: 2015 Plant of the Year
[3] USDA Forest Service: Conservation Partners Save Georgia Aster from Endangered Status
[4] Dunwoody Nature Center: The Milkweed Project – Initiative to Save the Monarch Butterfly
[5] National Park Service: Georgia Aster
[6] Monarch Butterfly Garden: Butterfly Plants List
[7] U.S. Fish and Wildlife: Species Assessment and Listing Priority Assignment Form – Georgia Aster
the Intown Hawk 