Hey all,

I started growing these milkweed plants in the spring. They finished blooms about a week ago now which is cool to see in the first few months of the plants from seed. I do have some concerns though.

On this first picture, what is this weird tan/white looking bug? They are absolutely everywhere and it seems like they may be a pest. I'm not even sure what eats these. Should I pull them all off?


On this second picture you will see very tiny looking white bugs or white balls. I'm not sure what this is. Is it some kind of fungus? Should I wipe those off with a paper towl?


On the third picture you will see the leaves in general have formed all these white markings/spots all over. Does this mean the plant is sick? Could it be caused from all of the above issues? I have noticed some of the leaves are starting to shrivel up and die. I read it's not needed to give butterfly weed fertilizer, but I feel it's needed now.


Thank you all for reading. I really don't want to lose my butterfly weed plants. I'm not sure what to do. There seems to be so many issues going on. Any assistance is welcome.

I'm not sure what the tan bug is, but what I can see in the other pics is aphids. Use either a strong jet of plain water, or an insecticidal soap. Since the Monarch butterflies may still use the milkweed to lay their eggs on, try the plain water.

Thanks, but the aphids are generally under control with the ladybugs. The aphids used to be way worse until the ladybugs arrived

That's good that you have ladybugs, they're not very common here.