Date: 03/08/2020

Number: 1

Three sightings. Several hours apart. I only got a good look at one so not sure if I was seeing the same individual repeatedly or more than one.

The Monarch in this photo looks fresh. I got a good look at it because it stayed in my yard for several minutes feeding on my flowers. It was not frayed at all and its colors were very vibrant. The other ones (or possibly the same one) I sighted were in flight 10-12 feet off the ground so I couldn't get a good look at them. They were definitely Monarchs.

We have had a extremely mild winter. Our Bluebonnets started blooming a good 4 weeks early this year. The first ones I saw were in a sheltered area downtown on January 29th. I've only had one very brief, light frost at my house. It got down to 31 and was only below freezing for a few hours. None of the plants in my yard that suffer from freezing temperatures were damaged. For this reason it is possible that the Monarch(s?) I saw were recently emerged from Tropical Milkweed in my neighborhood.

My Asclepias latifolia is still dormant. My Asclepias asperula and Asclepias oenotheroides have just started to show signs of life within the last 10 days or so. The plants are all still very small with less than a dozen small leaves each. I just checked all of them and found no eggs.

Austin, TX

Latitude: 30.3 Longitude: -97.7

Observed by: Corrina
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