Monarchs and milkweed

Journey North map (4/10/11)
I was delighted to watch two monarchs flying around our front meadow garden at home this afternoon.

It surprised me, even though I knew they'd all left Mexico and were streaming up through the Central U.S., thanks to email reports from Journey North, a great citizen science/classroom participation site.  Check out the map above.

One female was diligently seeking out the common milkweed plants that are abundant in the front meadow, and apparently laying eggs (although I didn't actually find any - I was distracted by fetching my camera).

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)


 Monarch investigating young milkweed shoot

She (I think) was quite thorough in investigating the young shoots  -- certainly she exhibited ovipositing behavior!

Comments

  1. How wonderful~I was sure I saw one flit by me in the garden~But, it was gone before I found my camera. The milkweed is up and ready. gail

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  2. Wow, how thrilling.

    The butterflies in my garden pretty much ignore the milkweed I planted. Oh well...

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