Common Waystation Insects

Common insect visitors to your Waystation Garden

List

  • Bug Guide

    Identification, images and information for insects, spiders and their kin in the United States and Canada, hosted by the Iowa State University Department of Entomology.

  • Insect Identification Guide

    An in-depth insect identification nature guide developed and maintained by Discover Life.

  • Insect Identification Key

    A key for identifying insect orders in Michigan and beyond, accessible to anyone from children to adults, developed and maintained by students at Eastern Michigan University.

  • North American Insects and Spiders

    A catalog of North American Insects and Spiders with incredible macro photographs by Bruce Marlin.

Common Insects Associated with Milkweeds

Aside from Monarchs, a milkweed patch can also attract and host many other insects. Some of these may be beneficial insects, like Ladybug larva, so make sure to learn about the insect before making any decisions. Follow the links below to learn more. We will be adding more to this section in the future. You can also learn more about insects in your Waystations by visiting the Gardening pages of this website.

Journey North's Who's Who in the Milkweed Patch.

All about the very common Red Milkweed Beetle, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The Missouri Botanical Garden has a good page about the Milkweed Bug,

Ladybug larva are commonly seen on milkweed and sometimes confused for a harmful pest. Ladybug larva will eat insects, such as aphids, off the milkweeds. The following is found on My Monarch Guide.

Butterflies and Moths

Your Waystation is likely attracting numerous butterflies and moths. Follow the links below to learn more about what species within the order Lepidoptera are visiting your garden.

Butterflies and Moths of North America is an ambitious effort to collect, store, and share species information and occurrence data. The quality-controlled data is maintained and regularly updated by many people, including professional Lepidopterists, the US Geological Survey, the National Biological Information Infrastructure Program and volunteer citizen scientists. A wealth of information!

Over 125 pages of butterfly information can be found on this Learn About Nature website.

Visit The Butterfly Website for photographs, identification guides, tips for butterfly gardening and inspiring stories about butterflies and moths.

For more butterfly or moth identification, visit the insect identification links at the top of this page.