Today was another perfect fall day for the Monarchs. This beautiful specimen is drinking nectar from Ed's Mammoth Pink chrysanthemum. His uncurled proboscis works like a straw drinking in nectar to fuel up for the trip. Butterflies need 55 degrees to fly so today is another great day to catch warm thermals and head South.
There is something magical about these beautiful butterflies and their long migration. We wish them Bon Voyage on their trip. Times' a wasting if they are going to reach Mexico by October 31 through November 2. In Mexico that is when they celebrate the Days of the Dead. According to ancient myth the butterflies represent the returning souls of the dead. Numbers of returning butterflies are decreasing at an alarming rate. I hope people's awareness has been aroused about this in time. I so love to watch these beautiful creatures. We do what we can to help, growing the milkweed they need for their caterpillars plus goldenrod, asters, chrysanthemums and other nectar producing flowers they need for food. Now it's time to watch them soar over the trees on warm thermals heading South, and hope next year's generation of Monarchs will return here next summer.
1 comment:
It is so wonderful to see monarchs a bit more this fall...we have them hanging around the tall asters still. I think once the weather shifts to cooler and wetter as predicted for the weekend they will finally be off.
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