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Sun, 20 Aug 2023 10:47:54 -0400 |
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That's funny! Turns out, dog-strangler vine (black swallow-wort) is very widespread in my neck of the woods. It is considered a threat to monarchs because they sometimes lay eggs on it. The caterpillars die due to toxins in the leaves. However, given a choice, monarchs prefer their normal host milkweeds. The plant can self pollinate so it doesn't require pollinators but it does produce nectar which apparently is used mainly by flies.
> Territoriality was displayed by an unidentified species of Sarcophaga. These flies actively defended an area against all other flies. An individual would sit on a leaf in the midst of V. nigrum flowers, and when other flies landed on flowers in the area it would fly directly at them, while making loud buzzing sounds. This caused the other flies to leave. When we removed one of these defenders, another individual of the same species soon took its place. Cecile Lumer and Susan E. Yost. 1995.
Heather R. Mattila & Gard W. Otis reported on the plant back in 2003:
> There are reliable observations of monarchs ovipositing on dog-strangler vine in the field, but it is probably a rare occurrence. We obtained no data in support of an effect of the presence of dog-strangler vine on monarch butterfly populations.
PLB
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