Riddle me this Batman. Monarchs have already made it up to Canada, and yet this female Monarch I saw today was laying eggs on the Milkweed. Isn’t she a little behind schedule?
Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to see her, but I’m thinking most of her “friends” have already long gone.
Based on how well her wings look, I’m guessing she is fairly young.
I wonder if she will actually try and migrate towards Canada or if she’ll just hang around locally?
What do you think?
.jpg "Female Monarch Spreading Wings On Milkweed")
Female Monarch Spreading Wings On Milkweed
.jpg "Female Monarch Laying Eggs On Milkweed")
Female Monarch Laying Eggs On Milkweed
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by texdr
3 comments
texdr - Haven’t seen it since I posted that picture two days ago. Perhaps she moved on. It can’t be because there’s no milkweed around as I have tons of it:-)June 6, 2010 – 3:01 pm
isaac - A couple of years with mild winters, I and some other bloggers noticed them year round. I inquired about it with Monarch Watch which tracks the population and migration. Microclimes present in neighborhoods have allowed them to survive year round with out necessarily migrating. The increased use of tropical milkweeds which don’t go dormant unless frozen (unlike the natives which have definite seasonal growth cycles) has provided a nearly year round supply of larval food. Those microclimes also allow the milkweeds to keep growing during mild winters. It would seem that garden habitats are able to impact population dynamics to some extent.June 6, 2010 – 8:53 am
isaac - One year I saw monarchs nearly year round and inquired about it with Monarch Watch. With all the microclimes present in neighborhoods and the increased prevalence of tropical milkweed (Asclepias currassavica) which is able to continue growing in those microclimes during mild winters, we have been able to establish local populations that don’t necessarily migrate. Garden habitats seem to be able to support these populations.June 6, 2010 – 8:48 am