Swamp milkweed

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. My swamp milkweed was delicious fare late last summer when the monarch butterflies came through and laid their eggs on it. Those caterpillars ate it to the ground, but several weeks ago, the poor plant was being devoured by handsome black and orange beetles. Only two or three at a time, I’d squish them, but one or two more would be there the next day. I froze some in a pimento jar (save those for when you need to keep an insect), and when we filmed, the agents that day identified it as a native swamp milkweed beetle. They’ve disappeared now. What a quandary – we all worry about the decline of the monarchs, but I couldn’t keep up with another native that was also able to cut the veins that release that milky sap and enjoy the leaves.