A Biodiversity Garden - Nina Zitani
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Tiger Swallowtail on Milkweed with Moonseed Leaf

A tiger swallowtail drinks nectar from common milkweed flowers using its straw-like mouthpart called a proboscis. Common milkweed is an essential biodiversity garden plant for two reasons: the leaves provide food for numerous specialist insects including caterpillars of monarch butterflies, and the flowers are an important source of food for pollinators. The curved stem and leaf on far right belongs to Canada moonseed (butterfly: Papilionidae: "Papilio canadensis"; plants: Apocynaceae: "Asclepias syriaca"; Menispermaceae: "Menispermum canadense").

milkweedasclepiasapocynaceaetiger swallowtailpapiliopapilionidaelepidopteraflowerpollinatorinsectnative plantontariocanadanorth americabiodiversity