Milkweed is home to a lot more than monarch caterpillars. Here is a sampling of what I found yesterday morning in my small patch of Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, growing in a narrow strip on the side of our house.
Ant, Prenolepis imparis
Honey bee on milkweed flower
Exoskeleton of lady bug larva
Two-striped Planthopper nymph, Acalonia bivittata
flatid planthopper nymph
cricket
Brown-belted Bumblebee, Bombus griseocollis
mites on Brown-belted Bumble Bee
Large Milkweed Bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus
Blow Fly, Calliphoridae
Long-legged Fly, Condystylus sp.
Tumbling Flower Beetle, Mordellidae
Though it looks like its head is falling off, this is a healthy individual.
Lauxaniid fly, Homoneura sp.
Leafhopper nymph, Jikradia olitoria
Unidentified plastered object; any ideas?
Acrobat ant, Crematogaster
Planting native plants brings a great diversity of wildlife to your garden. It helps to look closely to appreciate the wealth.