Chew on this… Native milkweeds are the only host plants for monarch butterflies and are prized plants for pollinator conservation. Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed so when they hatch, the larva can start chowing down right away. Fueled by nearly constant consumption of milkweed, monarchs do all their growing in the larval stage of metamorphosis. Just a few millimeters long when newly hatched, caterpillars reach about 2 inches long and 2,000 times their original mass in about 2 weeks! Monarch