Date: 10/17/2021

Number: 1

Milkweed seeds have been flying heavily especially the past few days as precipitation has waned. This afternoon it's heaviest so far and almost looks like snow squalls, with windy NW breeze, gusts and air thick with those puffy white seeds in mostly sunny skies.

The picture attached was taken yesterday, shows an upland prairie and mixed forest with 98% Common milkweed / 2% Swamp milkweed. The white color across the horizon is from the open seed pods in one part of a good five acres of the plants.

The last adult Monarch at this location was observed and reported a few days ago on 13 October, which was twenty-four days after the previous day with observed adults on 19 September. No frost yet, low of 38°F yesterday morning. Today is fairly dry after nine days straight with rain, totaling 2.6 inches.

Last Friday morning, 15th October, may have been the last favorable conditions this season for the last hatched adults to fly across Lake Michigan from Peninsula Point near Rapid River to the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin.

Gulliver, MI

Latitude: 46.1 Longitude: -86.1

Observed by: James
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