Date: 05/21/1997

Number: 1

While driving my vehicle on highway that afternoon (2:00 p.m. Central) the gusty rush of air created by the Truck ahead of me tossed a bright "Monarch-Orange" butterfly along the road-side ditch up and over my windshield. Just had time to recognize freshness of color--sorry,...no sex identification nor capture possible as Monarch was blown out of traffic obstacles.

We now have active growth on Asclepias "Ice Ballet" from last summer's planting introduction, but many plants still dormant, visible shoots are random and few measure >3" tall. Still scouting for field activity on wild plants expect something any day now. I spotted a ten-stem clump of our most common Asclepias speciosa breaking through the asphalt in Antioch proper, just four miles west of Serendipity.The clump was approximately one foot tall, had five-seven leaves per stem (eleven stems total), and hugged the warm south wall of a brick building. Saw no leaf damage, no eggs--just incredible to note t

Antioch, IL

Latitude: 42.5 Longitude: -88.1

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