Date: 03/19/2019

Number: 9

A good monarch day and thankfully the milkweed is starting to really come up ~ though still just sprouts!

At 12 noon I went about and saw 3 monarchs. It was 64 degrees F, partly cloudy, winds 9mph from the east, with 35% humidity. The first monarch was flying in our front yard, then rounded the house into the back yard and away. The 2nd monarch I saw was nectaring on blackberry blossoms, but was startled by our galumphing cat (who thankfully didn't see the monarch). The 3rd was a faded female monarch laying eggs on milkweed sprouts (rare finds) and doing some sunning at times ~ it was a bit chilly. On this same walkabout I checked a milkweed sprout that I had observed yesterday had no eggs on it ~ well today it had 9 lovely eggs on the crown and leaves!

At 2:00 as I was leaving for the post office I saw a flying monarch and an egg-laying female in the nearby field. When I returned home I saw a male monarch nectaring on a yellow thistle (Cirsium horridulum) in the nearby ditch. These nectar-rich plants are just emerging and provide monarchs with needed nourishment. I call them nectar fountains! Unfortunately, some do not realize their benefits to monarchs and other insects, so mow them because they can seem unsightly.

At 3pm (now about 70 degrees F) I went down into the pastures and observed 3 female monarchs looking for milkweed and nectaring on false garlic flowers. They all were in the same vicinity covering about three acres. I followed one of the female monarchs as she patiently and determinedly looked for those elusive just-emerging milkweeds ~ lesser mortals would have given up. Even I was doubtful, but amazingly she found a tiny milkweed sprout and fluttered gaily about it before laying 7 eggs it. This is her photo laying eggs on the little sprout of Asclepias viridis milkweed.

Montgomery, TX

Latitude: 30.4 Longitude: -95.8

Observed by: Kathy
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