Monarch Performance and Cardenolide Sequestration Decline on Naturally Derived Hybrid Milkweeds (Asclepias syriaca x speciosa)
Olson-Manning CF, Acharya S, Matuck L and others. Journal of chemical ecology, October 2026.
Read the paper Free to read · doi:10.1007/s10886-026-01774-8
What this paper is about
Common milkweed and showy milkweed hybridize where their ranges overlap. This study reared monarch caterpillars on naturally occurring hybrids and on both parent species, across three separate greenhouse experiments.
Caterpillars on the hybrids grew more slowly than those on either parent, and the adults they became carried lower total cardenolide concentrations in their tissues. The plant chemistry itself did not differ in the way that result would suggest, so the mechanism is not simply that hybrids are less toxic.
Summarised here from the published abstract. Not the authors’ words.
Abstract
Not reproduced here. This paper is published under CC BY-NC-ND, which does not permit it to be republished inside a CC BY page like this one. Read it at the source.
Milkweeds in this paper
- Common Milkweed Asclepias syriaca
- Showy Milkweed Asclepias speciosa
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"Monarch Performance and Cardenolide Sequestration Decline on Naturally Derived Hybrid Milkweeds (Asclepias syriaca x speciosa) (listing)." Milkweed USA, 2026, https://milkweedusa.com/research/monarch-performance-and-cardenolide-sequestration-decline-on-naturally-derived-2026/. Accessed DATE.
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author = {{Milkweed USA}},
year = {2026},
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