Posts Tagged: monarch butterfly

A Visit with Santa Claus on Christmas Morning

Christmas morning and the sights are bright. Santa came in his sleigh last night. He came with a whoosh and a ho-ho-ho. He came with a monarch and...

Santa Claus greets a monarch, which scientists say may be heading for extinction. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Santa Claus greets a monarch, which scientists say may be heading for extinction. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Monarch Named Ruth

When a monarch butterfly fluttered into the Davis garden of naturalist Greg Kareofelas and laid an egg on his narrowleaf milkweed, it marked the...

The Egg: Greg Kareofelas collected this egg from a narrowleaf milkweed in his Davis yard on Aug. 25. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

The Egg: Greg Kareofelas collected this egg from a narrowleaf milkweed in his Davis yard on Aug. 25. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

The Caterpillar: The egg that Greg Kareofelas collected Aug. 25 became a larva or caterpillar 3.5 days later. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

The Caterpillar: The egg that Greg Kareofelas collected Aug. 25 became a larva or caterpillar 3.5 days later. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

The Chrysalis: The caterpillar formed a chrysalis 12.5 days later. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

The Chrysalis: The caterpillar formed a chrysalis 12.5 days later. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

The Adult: The monarch eclosed only 8.5 days after forming the chrysalis and is shown here drying its wings. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

The Adult: The monarch eclosed only 8.5 days after forming the chrysalis and is shown here drying its wings. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

Meet Ruth: The monarch, a female, spreads her wings. Greg named her "Ruth," after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion of gender equality and women's rights. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

Meet Ruth: The monarch, a female, spreads her wings. Greg named her "Ruth," after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion of gender equality and women's rights. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

A Monarch Is Like a Stained Glass Window

Ever seen a back-lit monarch butterfly? It's like a stained-glass window in a centuries-old steepled church where you cannot see the ugliness...

A monarch butterfly, looking like a stained glass window, rises from a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, on Aug. 7 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch butterfly, looking like a stained glass window, rises from a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, on Aug. 7 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Up, up and away. The monarch rises from a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, on Aug. 7 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Up, up and away. The monarch rises from a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, on Aug. 7 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Independence Day and a Monarch

We call it the Fourth of July or Independence Day. Our 13 American colonies rose up against the monarch of Great Britain, King George III, and...

A monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, eclosed today (July 3) and is drying its wings on Hot Lips salvia, Salvia microphylla. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, eclosed today (July 3) and is drying its wings on Hot Lips salvia, Salvia microphylla. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Portraits of a Monarch Just Stopping By

Welcome, Danaus plexippus!  A monarch butterfly, the first of the year, fluttered through our family pollinator garden in Vacaville,...

A male monarch, Danaus plexippus, spreads its wings on a tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii) in Vacaville, Calif. on Sunday, May 23. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male monarch, Danaus plexippus, spreads its wings on a tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii) in Vacaville, Calif. on Sunday, May 23. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch lands on a mallow, Althaea officinalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch lands on a mallow, Althaea officinalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch took a liking to a yellow rose, "Sparkle and Shine," related to the Julia Child rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch took a liking to a yellow rose, "Sparkle and Shine," related to the Julia Child rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch touched down on a succulent, hens-and-chicks (when it blooms, it's known as a "rooster." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch touched down on a succulent, hens-and-chicks (when it blooms, it's known as a "rooster." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch stayed on the ear of a cat (garden sculpture) for about five minutes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch stayed on the ear of a cat (garden sculpture) for about five minutes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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