The Effects of Varying Nitrogen Supply on Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) Leaf Nitrogen Content and Condition and on Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Consumption Rates and Performance

Beth Lavoie
Master's Degree Research

Overview of Beth's Research    |  Research Projects

Overview

Monarch butterflies that migrate to Mexico each fall are in a state called reproductive diapause. When they emerge from the pupa, they look like summer butterflies, but will not develop mature ovaries or testes for several months. In some ways, they are arrested in a juvenile state, and most of them remain this way until the following spring when they become sexually mature. Liz Goehring studied many aspects of monarch diapause during her master’s thesis work at the University of Minnesota. Read more about these studies, and learn about insect diapause in general.

For her University of Minnesota Master’s thesis, Beth Lavoie studied how milkweed growing under different conditions varies in nitrogen content, and how these differences affect monarch growth and development.
To read more about her work, and background on the interesting interactions between host plant quality and herbivore performance, click on the following links.

• Background on the Effects of Varying Nitrogen Supply on Common Milkweed Leaves and Monarch Consumption Rates and Growth
• The Effects of Nitrogen Supply on Glasshouse-grown Common Milkweed Leaf Nitrogen Content and Condition and on Monarch Consumption Rates and Performance
• Milkweed Leaf Nitrogen and Condition in an Agricultural and a Nonagricultural Habitat

Interactions with Milkweed   |  Research Topics   |  Site Overview