Did you participate in the 2016 common milkweed pod collection? Fayette Soil & Water Conservation District is doing it again this year. If we want a sky filled with the wings of the monarch butterfly, it’s going to take healthy habitat for monarchs and other pollinators.

That’s why hundreds of Ohioans worked together last fall to collect approximately 200 pounds of common milkweed seeds, totaling over 19 million seeds.

The massive statewide seed collection effort was spearheaded by the Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative (OPHI), which is working to get the word out about why monarch butterflies are disappearing and to help partners create monarch habitat.

Milkweed is the only food source for monarch butterfly caterpillars. The disappearance of milkweed across the U.S. has contributed to the 80 percent decline of the eastern monarch butterfly population over the last 20 years. Regionally adapted milkweed grows and blooms when monarchs need it most. The dried husks of the common milkweed pods are a treasure chest filled with biological gems – viable milkweed seeds. The decrease in local milkweed plants makes local seed collection efforts all the more important.

“If we want monarchs, we need to protect their awe-inspiring multi-generational migration to and from Mexico,” explained Marci Lininger, OHPI Coordinator and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services Biologist. “That means more milkweed across monarch habitat and speaks to the Initiative’s motto ‘All you can, where you can.’”

That motto means we welcome the help of someone who can grab a few milkweed pods near where they live or commute, as well as the help of someone who has the time and know-how to collect many grocery bags full of pods. In this effort, truly every little (or large) bit helps. Make sure that before you collect seed, you become familiar with common milkweed to avoid harvesting pods from similar plants such as hemp dogbane and swamp milkweed. Locate common milkweed stands for seed pod collection in areas such as pastures, meadows, along railroad tracks, along bike paths, agricultural field margins, vacant land, cultivated gardens, and parks.

Establish ownership of the land and make sure to get landowner permission for monitoring and collecting the seed pods. Arrange for the owner to conserve the stand until the seed pods Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) Monarch Butterfly are ripe and ready to harvest. Also, make sure the seeds inside the pod are mature. Seed pods from common milkweed should be collected when the pods are dry and gray or brown in color. If the center seam pops with gentle pressure, they can be harvested. Do not collect pods that are already open as they may have been infested by the giant milkweed beetle.

These orange/black beetles can damage the seed making it non-viable. It is best to store pods in paper bags, because moisture can collect in plastic bags and allow mold to develop.

Store the seed pods in a cool, dry place. If you have questions regarding milkweed collection, please contact Marci Lininger at [email protected] or Lori Stevenson at [email protected]. When collecting, please note the date and county of collection on the paper sack, then bring them to the Fayette SWCD office, located in the Fayette Ag Center at 1415 US 22 SW, Suite 500, Washington Court House, between Sept. 1 and Oct. 30, 2017.

Thanks for being one of the many partners in this exciting project to return the monarchs to the skies.

This article was submitted by the Fayette Soil & Water Conservation District.