Five Monarch Butterflies Released

Even though we had some freezing weather for Houston (but no snow, despite predictions of 2-4 inches), our Monarch Chrysalises continued to eclose.  We had a total of 5, three of them eclosed a couple of days ago, and the last two eclosed yesterday at the exact same time (Leecy called them the twins).

As is typical for Houston, our freezing, cloudy weather gave way to beautiful blue skies today, with temperatures in the low 60′s.  The weather is supposed to remain nice until Thursday, so I thought today would be as good a day as any to release them.  We had been hand feeding them “Juicy-Juice” the last couple of days to keep them hydrated.

The first three I released immediately flew away, but the last two hung around for a bit and allowed me to take some pictures.

Monarch Butterfly On Redbud Tree

This Monarch Butterfly may have tried to fly away a little too quickly.  It flew around for a bit, then landed in the grass where it spread its wings to warm up before flying away.

Monarch Butterfly Resting In Grass

Monarch Butterfly Basking In Dead Grass