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Posts Tagged: migratory monarchs
Why the Petunia Patch Reigned Supreme Today
All year long, we've been waiting for those majestic monarchs to visit our pollinator garden in Vacaville, as they have in the past 10 years or so. One year (2020), they deposited more than 300 eggs on our milkweed. But this year? Zero. Zilch....
Find the monarch! A monarch stopped to nectar in a Mexican petunia patch Sept. 15 in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Zooming in, you can see the iconic monarch nectaring on a Mexican petunia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A 'Very Poor Year' for Monarchs in Pacific Northwest
It's been a "very poor year" for monarch butterflies in the Pacific Northwest. So, folks, if you're in their migratory pathway and anticipate seeing them head toward their overwintering sites in coastal California, don't get your hopes...
This migrating monarch flew from a vineyard in Ashland, Ore. to a garden in Vacaville, Calif. in 2016. This amounted to 285 miles in seven days or about 40.7 miles per day, according to WSU entomologist David James, who studies migratory monarchs.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A tattered and torn migrating monarch in Vacaville, Calif. This image was taken in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A newly eclosed female monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A newly eclosed male monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Those Disappearing Western Monarchs
It's good to see butterflies, especially monarchs, getting so much press. Now let's see if we can press the issue. The Washington Post just published an article in its style section: "Butterflies Were Symbols of Rebirth. Then They Started...
Monarchs on the fly in a Vacaville, Calif., pollinator garden in September 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
One of the monarchs reared in Vacaville, Calif. in 2016. It's ready to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Birds and The Bees--and The Butterflies
...Birds do it, bees do it Even educated fleas do it Let's do it, let's fall in love --Cole Porter When Cole Porter wrote “Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love” in 1928, he wasn't thinking about butterflies. He was thinking of birds, bees...
Near the presence of a metal bird sculpture, two monarchs meet Sept. 29 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hi, Ms. Monarch. Here I am. Look at me! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Can I get your attention? Please? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hello, again. Here I am, over here. Over here! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Once Upon a Monarch...
We first saw her at 10 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2017. She was eating. That's what monarch caterpillars do best. They eat. A lot. "Where have you been?" I asked. "Where have you been hiding? Your siblings have long gone. Your buddies passed through here in late...
A monarch caterpillar dines on tropical milkweed on Oct. 27, 2017 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch caterpillar, found Oct. 27 on milkweed in Vacaville, Calif., formed this chrysalis on Nov. 4. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
On Nov. 22, the chrysalis darkened, revealing the iconic orange, black and white wings of the monarch in all its transparency. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
On Nov. 22, the monarch eclosed. It's a girl! Here she clings to her pupal case. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarch Mom Rita LeRoy, farm keeper at Loma Vista Farm, Vallejo, is ready to release the Vacaville-born and reared monarch at the butterfly sanctuary at Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, on Nov. 24.
