Posts Tagged: butterflies
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 Invertebrate Conservation to seek endangered species...
This "floral bouquet" of milkweed contains four monarch eggs. Image taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
No Federal Protection for the Monarch Butterflies
Yes, monarch butterflies qualify for the Endangered Species list. But no, we can't protect them because we don't have the money. That's the gist of what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)...
A monarch butterfly nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch spreads its wings as it nectars on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarchs overwintering in the Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Memorable Year for the Western Monarchs
It's definitely going to be quite a memorable year for the Western monarch butterflies--memorable as in "record low populations at the overwintering sites along the California coast." Matthew...
Monarchs overwintering in the Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The King of the Butterflies on the Queen of Annuals
Is there anything more beautiful than a monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, nectaring on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) in the late afternoon sun? The brilliant...
A monarch butterfly sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif., on Oct. 30. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch butterfly spreads its wings on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif., on Oct. 30. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
As striking as a stain glass window, the monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Oleander Aphid and the Monarch Egg
You never know about those photo-bombers. You can't trust 'em. So here I was, trying to photograph a tiny egg that a monarch butterfly had just deposited on our milkweed. I held it up for a better...
A monarch butterfly just deposited this egg on a milkweed leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Photo-bomber! An oleander aphid appears out of nowhere, heading toward the monarch egg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Curious oleander aphid checks out the monarch egg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)