Date: 03/20/2018

Number: 10

Today, as I went about the pastures from about 1:00 to 3:00 pm, I saw at least 10 individual monarchs. I would observe an area for awhile, then move to an upper or lower pasture (sometimes separated by trees). I saw at least 8 females and 2 males at this time. There may have been more, but I was trying to be careful not to count them twice. It was a cool 63 degrees F with north wind gusts at 10 mph in bright full sun. This weather seemed to be the reason for the interesting behavior of the monarchs. They were very often resting and sunbathing ~ much more frequently than I have seen before. Sometimes I would be standing still and no monarchs would be in sight (because they were hidden by the grass), then in a moment of two there would be up to 5 visible to me flying low over the grass ~ usually females egg-laying.

At one point there were 2 females within a foot of each other, both on nearby milkweed plants. (I had been standing still there when they both arrived.) Suddenly, a male swooped down and one of the females went up and away in escape mode with him pursuing, while the other dropped down and closed her wings for a bit hiding out, then back to egg-laying.

The males were often nectaring on blackberry blossoms and "sunning." This was very efficient and smart behavior on a chilly, windy day. Over and over the males would drop to the grass, laying with their wings fully spread to the sun... a female would wander by in her milkweed search and he would spring up and be after her. One fellow often sunned on the crown of a large milkweed with his wings outspread like solar panels. He knew some female would be drawn to the milkweed patch soon enough.

Later, I went out again from 4:00 to 4:30 and saw 2 males and a female. The males were resting, flying and nectaring on blackberry blossoms. The female was going about looking for suitable milkweed, then was chased into the air by a male, but she dropped down suddenly ... he seemed to lose her and flew off... she stayed resting for awhile. He too went back to resting and "sunning". This behavior was typical this day as it seemed the monarchs needed to rest more and to stay warm.

The effects of the hailstorm on Sunday night were still quite evident today, two days later. The broken and damaged milkweed, the damaged blackberry blossoms (many without their petals), and many fewer false garlic flowers (though still to be found where the treeline protected them from the hail). But it was a great relief to see so many monarchs, all seeming quite healthy, with only the normal wear and tear to their wings. I did see one female who had more extensive wing tattering, but she was flying fine and actively egg-laying.

This is a photo of one of the female monarchs as she lays an egg on the crown of a fresh milkweed.

Montgomery, TX

Latitude: 30.4 Longitude: -95.8

Observed by: Kathy
Contact Observer

The observer's e-mail address will not be disclosed.
Contact will be made through a web-based form.