Photo Gallery

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Did you know....

Monarch Watch volunteers throughout the United States and eastern Canada place self adhesive tags on the wings of monarchs to track their migration?

Check it out:

monarchwatch.org

I happened to spot this locally-tagged Monarch in my garden by chance one day as it paused to fuel up after having been released the day before by a neighbor and fellow butterfly lover who raised it, and it allowed for a colorful photo opportunity before this winged wonder headed south on its migration. This lucky sighting became one of the top video captures of butterflies in my garden in 2022!

Yet another chrysalis SOS and positive turnout after a little intervention...though not for the squeamish!

This monarch spent its earlier, larval stages munching the plentiful milkweed in the garden. The caterpillar eventually formed its chrysalis to begin the next stage of metamorphosis. After some rough weather caused the 10-day old chrysalis to detach and fall to the ground, I scooped it up using some gloves and brought it inside to provide shelter until it was ready to emerge. I had some parsley in a vase I considered including in a small box to keep it safe until the big day....instead, it became obvious the arrival of this butterfly was imminent so a little resourcefulness was called for. Since Monarchs typically need to be able to hang to dry after eclosing, I grabbed some dental floss for use as a temporary "vine" and hovered the strand over the emerging being as it wriggled in my hand, and as instinct kicked in. As you can see in this capture, nature knew just what to do!