Date: 05/01/2019

Number: 1

What a nice gift for May Day! Monarch Waystation #271 reports the first monarch butterfly sighted this spring as I "migrated" my pots from the south patio to the sunnier north garden bed. This female had amazingly intact but faded wings, was a strong and active flyer and spent much of the late morning and early afternoon laying eggs on Swamp, Purple and Common milkweeds in both the front and back yards. She was tough to photograph. She concentrated her ovipositing on the upper leaves of swamp and common milkweeds, and on the flower buds of the purple milkweeds. Did not see her stop to nectar, but didn't have eyes on her the whole time as I went in and out of the house for other things. She was very focused on laying eggs. By her behavior I suspect she had been in the yard before and kept inspecting the same plants over and over. You GO girl!
"Let me smell the wild white rose,
Smell the woodbine and the may;
Mark, upon a sunny day,
Sated from their blossoms rise,
Honey-bees and butterflies."
-- Jean Ingelow, from A Dead Year

Newport News, VA

Latitude: 37.1 Longitude: -76.5

Observed by: Judy
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