Milkweeds have become a popular garden plant in the last several years. They are most commonly planted to help support monarch butterflies because milkweeds are the sole food source for monarch caterpillars. If you’ve ever gone out to check your milkweed plants for monarch caterpillars, you may have been surprised to find other insects living and feeding on your milkweed plants. After all, milkweeds are toxic to other animals. However, some insects have evolved to be able to feed on milkweed and, like monarch caterpillars, have become milkweed specialists. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cLvl96PpqOg PhotosRed milkweed beetle"Red Milkweed Beetle - Tetraopes tetropht" (CC BY 2.0) by Judy GallagherRed milkweed beetle eyes - By Bruce Marlin, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1514284 Swamp milkweed leaf beetleAdult – Thomas Irvine (CC BY 4.0), iNaturalistLarva – dbugs, Public Domain, iNaturalistMilkweed bugs – Ken Johnson, University of Illinois ExtensionMilkweed tussock mothNewly hatched caterpillars and damage - Erin Lalime (CC BY 4.0), iNaturalistOlder caterpillar - "255/366 Milkweed Tussock Moth - Euchaete" (CC BY 2.0) by Judy GallagherAdult moth - Dan MacNeal (CC BY 4.0), iNaturalistOleander aphids - Ken Johnson, University of Illinois Extension Contact us! Chris Enroth: cenroth@illinois.eduKen Johnson: kjohnso@illinois.edu   Check out the Good Growing Blog: https://go.illinois.edu/goodgrowingSubscribe to the weekly Good Growing email: https://go.illinois.edu/goodgrowingsubscribe  Any products or companies mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion or endorsement of these products or companies. --You can find us on most podcast platforms.  iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-growing/id1446630377   Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/show/good-growing   Tunein https://tunein.com/podcasts/Gardening/Good-Growing-p1187964/ Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/202u3siWExE1tTqrVgtmCR   Vurbl https://vurbl.com/station/good-growing-4pljnNlUtyG/   Listen notes https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/good-growing-chris-enroth-cHLPMWpvEOG/   Ivy https://ivy.fm/podcast/good-growing-167902   Castbox https://castbox.fm/channel/Good-Growing-id4302614?country=us   Google podcasts https://bit.ly/3AiYjTD