Date: 08/26/2019

Number: 1

Monarch Waystation #271 reports a dedicated female monarch [in good condition] laying eggs amidst gusty breezes in the front yard, sighted @11:42am. She oviposited on Tropical milkweed, then attempted to land on a nearby Purple milkweed to lay another egg but had problems gripping the upper leaf surface as a few strong wind gusts occurred. She gave up and nectared on a nearby Tithonia. A few minutes later I went out to retrieve something in the yard and checked on the Purple milkweed leaf. The underside of the leaf the female landed on [and the few beside it I checked] had scattered clusters of aphids, each aphid attended by an ant. Perhaps she abandoned the Purple milkweed after detecting the ants, or due to its "green but leathery" condition. Possibly the same female was spotted about 30 minutes later flying around alternately assessing milkweeds and laying eggs. Weather is alternately overcast with a few patches of sunlight, hasn't made up its mind to rain or not. No diligent egg search conducted.

Newport News, VA

Latitude: 37.1 Longitude: -76.5

Observed by: Judy
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