Monarch On Echinacea
Danaus plexippus on Echinacea purpurea.
The entire plant can be used for its immune boosting properties. The purple ray flowers attach to a round, high and spiky cone, hence the common name, purple coneflower. Technically speaking, this thick and spiky cone is actually hundreds of flowers, all tightly packed together. Echinacea's name is rooted in the Greek word “echinos,” meaning "hedgehog," because of its spiny seed head.
Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar
On Milkweed.
Which end is which on this Monarch Caterpillar On Milkweed. Monarchs can’t survive without milkweed. They need it to lay their eggs on and their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants. The monarch butterfly population is in danger because milkweed plants are disappearing, due to loss of habitat stemming from land development and the widespread spraying of weed killer on the fields where they live. We can help monarchs by growing milkweed in our yards, fields, and gardens. Monarch Butterfly On Echinacea 11
Monarch Butterfly On Echinacea 17
Monarch Butterfly On Purple Loosetrife
Monarch Butterfly On Purple LoosetrifeMonarch Butterfly On Purple LoosetrifeMonarch Butterfly - Danaus plexippus on purple asters.
They say that the name Butterfly is of unknown origin, but I believe that they were originally called Flutterbys, as I like to call them, and that someone (perhaps a child), probably mispronounced it, and it stuck. They are fascinating creatures who take to the air on gossamer wings. They've come to symbolize metamorphosis. These remarkable pollinators display a diversity of colors and patterns.
Monarchs can’t survive without milkweed. They need it to lay their eggs on and their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants. The monarch butterfly population is in danger because milkweed plants are disappearing, due to loss of habitat stemming from land development and the widespread spraying of weed killer on the fields where they live. We can help monarchs by growing milkweed in our yards, fields, and gardens.
New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae). Another plant to ease wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tension and congestion.
Monarch Butterfly on purple asters.
Monarch Butterfly On Butterfly Weed
Danaus plexippus on Asclepias tuberosa, a species of milkweed native to eastern North America.
(Danaus plexippus) on purple cone flower.
Echinacea purpurea. Echinacea's name is rooted in the Greek word “echinos,” meaning "hedgehog," because of its spiny seed head.
Monarch Butterfly On Echinacea 23
Monarch Butterfly On Echinacea, From A Different Angle
This photo was Awarded Capture My Vermont, Photo of the Day, for August 17, 2018.
Monarch Butterfly On Goldenrod
Monarch Butterfly On Milkweed
This photo was Awarded Capture My Vermont, Photo of the Day, for July 20, 2018.
Monarchs cannot survive without milkweed. They need it to lay their eggs
on and their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants, which is why I
always let some milkweed grow in my garden. The monarch butterfly
population is in danger because milkweed plants are rapidly
disappearing, due to loss of habitat stemming from land development and
the widespread spraying of weed killer on the fields where they live. We
can help monarchs by growing milkweed in our yards, fields, and
gardens.
Monarch Butterfly On PineMonarch Butterfly On Bee Balm 
Monarch Butterfly On Young Crabapples
Monarch Butterfly In Flight
Monarch butterfly alert: There are concerns about the alarming decline of the western monarch population, which has plummeted by 95%, from more than 10 million in the 1980s to less than 30,000 in 2018. Insects can bounce back quickly when conditions improve, but unfortunately the numbers were not any better in 2019. A recent census of the wintering sites along the California coast revealed mostly empty trees once festooned with monarchs. The decline is due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and drought triggered by climate change. None of us can turn around those big trends individually, but what each of us can do is make our backyards and public spaces more attractive to monarchs by planting the right milkweed plants. Plant, and they will come! Monarchs can’t survive without milkweed. They need it to lay their eggs on and their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants. The monarch butterfly population is in danger because milkweed plants are disappearing, due to loss of habitat stemming from land development and the widespread spraying of weed killer on the fields where they live. We can help monarchs by growing milkweed in our yards, fields, and gardens.
Monarch butterfly on Blue Billygoat weed
(aka floss flower, bluemink, blueweed, pussy foot, Mexican paintbrush)
The easiest way to tell a male monarch butterfly from a female monarch is by looking for two dark spots on the hindwings—the female butterflies don’t have these spots. A female monarch in the wild can lay up to 500 eggs on milkweed plants throughout her lifetime. The adult monarchs you see fluttering through your backyard when the weather’s warm typically live only about 4 or 5 weeks — just long enough to mate and produce the next group. It takes four generations of monarchs to complete their annual migration journey before ending up in your garden again. However, the fourth “super generation” that overwinters in Mexico can live for as long as eight months. Monarch butterflies can flap their wings up to 12 times a second when flying at their fastest. Monarch butterflies fly a long distance during fall migration, farther than any other tropical butterfly—up to 3,000 miles.
