Date: 04/08/2024

Number: 6

Solar eclipse day! All morning it was cloudy, misty, and overcast. At 11:00 am I was in our front & back yards and saw 4 monarchs. Two were milkweed visiting & egg-laying. The two others were nectaring and resting. I didn't go down into the pastures, so not sure about monarch activity there.

This female monarch is one of the monarchs seen egg-laying in our front yard. Here she is laying her eggs in the bud crown of a fresh emerging milkweed (Asclepias viridis). I checked after she left and found three eggs. She also spent time resting on the milkweed, opening and closing her wings. Her wings have tattering and fading.

We only had a few moments of a slight break in the clouds for the solar eclipse (90% here) and simultaneously a thunder and lightning storm came through. It then rained for several hours (2.5 inches of rain).

Later around 6pm, I went out briefly to check on some of the monarch eggs & larvae ~ to see how the heavy rain had impacted them. All that I looked at seemed fine. I also saw 2 monarchs flying with both of them landing in the leaves of trees ~ likely resting for the night.

Montgomery, TX

Latitude: 30.4 Longitude: -95.8

Observed by: Kathy
Contact Observer

The observer's e-mail address will not be disclosed.
Contact will be made through a web-based form.