Roosting Behavior

"It was a cold day — temperatures only reached the upper 50s roosts — and the roosts were visibly beginning to form around 3 pm. It wasn't hard to spot the roosts. I just watched nectaring monarchs exit the sunflower field, and followed them as they flew toward the trees along the road. Lone monarchs would fly up to the trees, then fly horizontally along the treeline until they spotted other monarchs. The lone monarch would then attempt to settle in. Sometimes the receiving cluster did not move; other times cluster members 'flashed' the new arrival, but stayed put; other times the cluster broke up, everybody scattered/flew about 5-10 feet, then they all circled back and regrouped together back on the tree branches." —Candy Sarikonda

Candy Sarikonda    Put-in-Bay, Ohio     September 13, 2014