I have seen the Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) here lately. This one stayed on my white butterfly bush all day.
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Monarch butterfly on white butterfly bush
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Click photos to view larger
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From wikipedia: Monarchs are especially noted for their lengthy annual migration. In North America they make massive southward migrations starting in August until the first frost. A northward migration takes place in the spring. The monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south as the birds do on a regular basis. But no single individual makes the entire round trip. Female monarchs deposit eggs for the next generation during these migrations. By the end of October, the population east of the Rocky Mountains migrates to the sanctuaries of the Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve in the Mexican states of Michoacán and México. The western population overwinters in various sites in central coastal and southern California, United States, notably in Pacific Grove and Santa Cruz.
The length of these journeys exceeds the normal lifespan of most monarchs, which is less than two months for butterflies born in early summer. The last generation of the summer enters into a non-reproductive phase known as diapause and may live seven months or more. During diapause, butterflies fly to one of many overwintering sites. The generation that overwinters generally does not reproduce until it leaves the overwintering site sometime in February and March. It is thought that the overwinter population of those east of the Rockies may reach as far north as Texas and Oklahoma during the spring migration. It is the second, third and fourth generations that return to their northern locations in the United States and Canada in the spring. How the species manages to return to the same overwintering spots over a gap of several generations is still a subject of research; the flight patterns appear to be inherited, based on a combination of circadian rhythm and the position of the sun in the sky.
Monarch butterflies are one of the few insects capable of making transatlantic crossings.
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A jewel of the insect world. What marvelous photos. I love all the information you give with your butterfly pictures.
Thank you, Quietpaths. I’m always interested in learning more about the insects I see in my yard all the time, and am glad you enjoy the posts.
I can’t imagine it staying on one bush all day.
Hi Louise,
They absolutely love my butterfly bushes, and I frequently see the same butterflies on them all day. This monarch was definitely the same one, as it is missing part of one wing (lower left side) and I noticed it right away. Thanks for your visits.
Oh I must share with you that… once when I had gone trekking into the forests of Southern India.. I saw a dark cloud coming too fast towards us… its only after some time I realized that those were migrating butterflies… thousands of them fluttering in unison. Words cannot describe that moment.
Wow, Ishrath, I would have loved to see that! It must have been an awesome sight!