Date: 05/25/2005

Number: 1

I was driving along a recently trimmed field & noticed a Monarch Butterfly Floating along very close to the ground looking for nectar or perhaps host plants on which to land on. It was 1pm in the afternoon & temps were in the upper 90's, I say 96 degrees today with very little wind or clouds. We are in our first warm period of the year & temps are supposed to be in the 90's all week long.

I am postive that it was indeed a Monarch butterfly. The 3 things that set this one apart from the Ladies (cardui, virginiensis & annabella) is 1)The size 2)Flight Pattern 3) The Bold Black Markings on this Butterfly.
There have been millions of Painted Ladies that migrated through here & their offspring have set off a second wave that we are experiencing right now! In addition, the American Lady population has also exploded ! I frequently check the native milkweeds in the area such as Asclepias speciosa & Asclepias fascicularis but have yet to find any Ova or Larvae.

Stockton, CA

Latitude: 38 Longitude: -121.4

Observed by: Sal
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