“Monarch Joint Venture has partnered with Monarch Alert and Monarch Health in a collaborative effort to examine how the presence of tropical milkweeds (Asclepias curassavica) and year-round monarch breeding activity affect the prevalence and transmission of OE (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha), and to evaluate the potential effectiveness of cutting back tropical milkweeds during the winter months for reducing monarch infections” (MJV 2016).

• Monarch Joint Venture (MJV). 2016. Assessment of Exotic Milkweeds and the Spread of Disease in Monarchs. http://monarchjointventure.org/our-work/assessment-of-exotic-milkweeds-and-the-spread-of-disease-in-monarchs.

Keywords: diseases and parasites, exotic milkweed, gardening, milkweed