Mar 15 2010
Monarch Butterflies
Monarch Butterfly on Zinnia Flower
Monarch butterflies are one of my favorite kind of butterfly. They are one of the species that will migrate in the fall. If you are lucky, you can see them completely filling the trees when they stop for a break on their trip. I think this is such an amazing feat; that the fragile looking Monarch butterflies will fly hundreds and hundreds of miles and then make a return trip.
From June until October you can see the beautiful Monarch butterfly floating leisurely about across the fields and meadows. Monarchs one of the largest and most distinctive of the milkweed butterflies. The veins of the wings are heavily marked in black, with large white dots upon the black bands along the margin. The color of the rest of the wings both above and below is reddish brown.
The Monarch butterflies come up from the south in spring or early summer. They will then go in search of the milkweed plants, so they can lay their eggs on the leaves. These eggs will soon hatch into small white and black caterpillars that feed on the milkweed leaves and grow rapidly. They are easy to find throughout most of the summer, just look for a partially eaten milkweed plant!
Once the Monarch caterpillars have reached their maximum size they will turn into a chrysalis. In a little while the chrysalis will open and a brand new Monarch butterfly will emerge. In early autumn these Monarch butterflies will then head southward once again on their long journey to Florida or Mexico. This when they can often be seen, gathered in great flocks stopping for the night on trees and shrubs along the way.
Monarch butterflies feed on a variety of flowers in my butterfly garden. I have seen them feeding on Zinnias, Goldenrod, Asters, Butterfly Weed, Butterfly Bushes and several other flowers that I have in my butterfly garden. If you have these plants in your garden, you may see a Monarch butterfly stopping by on his journey south!
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