{"id":154511,"date":"2025-09-06T03:54:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T08:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=154511"},"modified":"2025-09-06T03:54:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T08:54:19","slug":"blooming-climbing-milkweed-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/09\/06\/blooming-climbing-milkweed-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Blooming Climbing Milkweed At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two days ago, I took my first Climbing Milkweed photos near where I photographed a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"Resting Viceroy Butterfly In Oklahoma\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/09\/05\/resting-viceroy-butterfly-in-oklahoma\/\">resting Viceroy butterfly<\/a><\/span> at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-154505 size-full\" title=\"Climbing Milkweed at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7576.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7576.jpg\" alt=\"Climbing Milkweed at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7576-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7576-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7576-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7576-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7576-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7576.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Climbing Milkweed at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 800, -0.7 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I hadn\u2019t noticed the blooming Climbing Milkweed last year at this time, but I didn\u2019t spend much time at the refuge last September either.<\/p>\n<p>Because I had read about it years ago, I knew about the climbing variety of milkweed. I simply didn\u2019t realize that it grows at the refuge. The flowering umbels were about 15 to 20 feet above the ground, and I enjoyed seeing the heart-shaped leaves of the milkweed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-154506 size-full\" title=\"Blooming Climbing Milkweed in Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7588.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7588.jpg\" alt=\"Blooming Climbing Milkweed in Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7588-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7588-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7588-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7588-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7588-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7588.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Blooming Climbing Milkweed in Oklahoma \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 800, -0.7 EV, Canon EF 100-400mm II at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Climbing Milkweed isn\u2019t just pretty; it is also food for the larvae of Monarch and Queen butterflies. Adult butterflies of other species also feed on the nectar of the flowers. So do bees and other insects!<\/p>\n<p>Butterflies need all the help they can get now, especially Monarch butterflies. Seeds can be purchased for Climbing Milkweed, so if you have space and this twining plant is recommended for your area, it would be a helpful native plant to have in your garden.<\/p>\n<p>A small butterfly garden can go a long way toward helping other things with wings!<\/p>\n<p>I was delighted to have photographed my first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inaturalist.org\/taxa\/77180-Funastrum-cynanchoides\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Climbing Milkweeds<\/span><\/a> at the refuge.<\/p>\n<p>Life<em> is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/flower-and-tree-images\/\">here<\/a> to see more of my wildflower, shrub and tree photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two days ago, I took my first Climbing Milkweed photos near where I photographed a resting Viceroy butterfly at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":154506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16725,13973,13974],"tags":[6098,6557,7353,14190,13984,5873,16726,6518,16727,6571,6572,4302,2315,11722,5065,4307],"class_list":["post-154511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climbing-milkweed","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-blooming","tag-blooms","tag-blossoms","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forest","tag-bottomlands","tag-climbing","tag-climbing-milkweed","tag-flowering","tag-funastrum-cynanchoides","tag-milkweed","tag-milkweeds","tag-native","tag-summer-3","tag-vine","tag-white-wildflowers","tag-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/climbing-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-7588.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-Ec7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":128592,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/16\/green-antelopehorns-in-bloom-at-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":154511,"position":0},"title":"Green Antelopehorns In Bloom At Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Some of the native wildflowers I photographed yesterday morning at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge were pretty clumps of blooming Green Antelopehorns.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Green Antelopehorns&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Green Antelopehorns","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/green-antelopehorns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Green Antelopehorns at Tishomingo NWR, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52621,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/06\/16\/blooming-showy-milkweed-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":154511,"position":1},"title":"Blooming Showy Milkweed at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Showy Milkweeds are an important source of nectar for butterflies, especially Monarch Butterflies who not only use them as a nectar source but also use them for laying their eggs on and as a larval host.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Showy Milkweed in bloom, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/showy-milkweed-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-5290.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/showy-milkweed-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-5290.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/showy-milkweed-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-5290.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/showy-milkweed-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-5290.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":150157,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/07\/09\/resting-pearl-crescent-butterfly\/","url_meta":{"origin":154511,"position":2},"title":"Resting Pearl Crescent Butterfly","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Pearl Crescent butterfly patterns can vary quite a bit, which makes them a little more fun to figure out.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Oklahoma&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resting Pearl Crescent butterfly in Oklahoma, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/pearl-crescent-adult-butterfly-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-1426.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/pearl-crescent-adult-butterfly-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-1426.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/pearl-crescent-adult-butterfly-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-1426.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/pearl-crescent-adult-butterfly-oklahoma-mia-mcpherson-1426.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":132509,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/08\/16\/more-new-butterflies-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":154511,"position":3},"title":"More New Butterflies At Sequoyah NWR!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, when I shared the pale young Raccoon, I mentioned that I also photographed some butterflies at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. Here they are!","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Oklahoma&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pipevine Swallowtail next to the Arkansas River, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pipevine-swallowtail-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1350.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pipevine-swallowtail-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1350.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pipevine-swallowtail-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1350.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/pipevine-swallowtail-sequoyah-mia-mcpherson-1350.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":92222,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/07\/14\/two-tailed-swallowtail-and-showy-milkweed\/","url_meta":{"origin":154511,"position":4},"title":"Two-tailed Swallowtail And Showy Milkweed","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"When I returned home and could view my images on a large screen I was able to identify this swallowtail butterfly as a male Two-tailed Swallowtail.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Morgan County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Morgan County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/morgan-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Two-tailed Swallowtail on Showy Milkweed, Wasatch Mountains, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Two-tailed-Swallowtail-on-showy-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-9160.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Two-tailed-Swallowtail-on-showy-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-9160.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Two-tailed-Swallowtail-on-showy-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-9160.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Two-tailed-Swallowtail-on-showy-milkweed-mia-mcpherson-9160.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":142553,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/03\/gray-hairstreak-butterfly-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":154511,"position":5},"title":"Gray Hairstreak Butterfly Photos &#8211; For The Love Of Butterflies","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Butterflies are rapidly declining in North America, so I\u2019m photographing and sharing them often. Today, I\u2019m sharing Gray Hairstreak photos.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Gray Hairstreak Butterflies&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Gray Hairstreak Butterflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/gray-hairstreak-butterflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Upright Prairie Coneflower and a Gray Hairstreak butterfly, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}