Date: 04/13/2015

Number: 1

This was a bright sunny morning after the thunderstorms the day before. Soggy ground, quite windy, and a comfortable 75 degrees F at about 11am. I saw multiple monarchs flying around, a few egg-laying, sometimes resting, and sometimes nectaring. I saw a monarch nectaring from the blossoms of our native milkweed (Asclepias viridis) and also from tall prairie plantains (Cacalia plantagininea). The photo is of a female monarch resting on a Lyre-leaf sage (Salvia lyrata) in between egg-laying. She seemed to be enjoying the sunshine and a well-earned rest.

Later, around 2pm I drove to our post office a few miles away. I saw three monarchs on the short journey. The ditches along the roadsides in our area are fairly abundant with wildflowers and milkweed, so it was a lovely sight to see two monarchs fluttering among the flowers in two separate locations. Also a very faded monarch flew past my car as I drove. When I got home a monarch was zooming around the driveway ~~ I think it was a male energized by nectar!

In the evening I had the joy of seeing 2 newly-born tiny larvae. I had checked their separate milkweed plants (nearby in our driveway) in the morning and noticed that each had an egg with a grayish tip. So I knew to look closely for the tiny babies when the eggs were no longer there. I wouldn't have noticed the tiny creatures (or found them hidden in the buds) if I hadn't known to look.

Dobbin, TX

Latitude: 30.4 Longitude: -95.8

Observed by: Kathy
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