Posts Tagged: Danaus plexippus

Seen Any Monarchs Lately?

Seen any monarchs lately? No, not the British royal family: the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis...

A territorial male bee, Melissodes agilis, targets a monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in July 2020 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A territorial male bee, Melissodes agilis, targets a monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in July 2020 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A territorial male bee, Melissodes agilis, confronts a monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in July 2020, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A territorial male bee, Melissodes agilis, confronts a monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in July 2020, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flying High, Flying Free

An American flag flies from its sky-high pole at our home year-around. A U.S. Air Force veteran lives here, and the survivors of generations of...

A monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, flutters on the American flag. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, flutters on the American flag. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Surprise! A Monarch Caterpillar in C-O-L-D January

"What are YOU doing here?"  It was Saturday morning, Jan. 23 and the monarch caterpillar seemed to be sunning itself on a milkweed leaf in...

A monarch caterpillar on a milkweed leaf on Jan. 23 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar on a milkweed leaf on Jan. 23 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The third-instar monarch caterpillar crawling to dinner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The third-instar monarch caterpillar crawling to dinner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Floral Bouquet Graced with Four Monarch Eggs

2020 was a troubling year for the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus.  The severe population decline led the Xerces Society for...

This "floral bouquet" of milkweed contains four monarch eggs. Image taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This "floral bouquet" of milkweed contains four monarch eggs. Image taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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)

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