I was taking a walk at Fort Hill yesterday morning when I happened to see a little “color” under one of the milkweed leaves on the side of the trail. I took another look and there was this beautiful and colorful Monarch caterpillar. It’s the first one that I’ve seen this year. What a treat!
“The monarch butterfly is a recognizable North American insect known for its bright orange and black wings, long-distance migration, and dependence on milkweed plants. Monarch caterpillars exclusively eat milkweed, which makes them toxic to predators, while adult monarchs feed on nectar from various flowers. The species undergoes a four-stage life cycle (egg, larva, pupa, adult) and undertakes a remarkable annual migration from Canada and the U.S. to overwintering sites in Mexico or California.”
The Monarch butterflies and caterpillars are so beautiful and so fascinating!
I have seen so few butterflies this summer, it’s really been disheartening. They are usually constantly flitting about the flowers in my yard. This summer it has not been so. I could count on one hand the number of butterflies I’ve seen in my yard. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
… Until yesterday, when this beautiful orange and brown Pearl Crescent came to sample some of my Zinnias. It must have liked them as it stayed for hours. Have you seen many butterflies this summer?
We saw so many of these Little Wood Satyr butterflies flitting about on the John Kendrick’s Trail in Orleans. They are such a pretty butterfly with distinctive eyespots on their wings. As the name implies the Little Wood Satyr is most commonly seen in woods and shrubby areas.
I love seeing the new varieties of butterflies as they migrate back for the summer. This Crescent butterfly was flitting all over the place at Fort Hill looking for something to feed on. Have you seen any butterflies at Fort Hill this summer?
The Monarch butterflies are back on Cape Cod and they are gorgeous! We’ve seen quite a few at Fort Hill in the past couple of days.
This Monarch flitted from flower to flower right near us so we were able to get some good photographs. The Milkweed isn’t in bloom yet, but they seemed to really like the purple Vetch wildflower.
Have you seen any Monarchs yet this season? What a treat!
We found this great new app called Inaturalist, that will identify just about anything living out in nature. It has been so much fun to use. (Click on blog link for other photo.)
You just hold your iphone up to a flower or plant or bird, or any species in nature and it will tell you what it is. It is so cool and so educational. I have learned so many new species in the past couple of weeks!
It’s just fun to experiment and identify the different kinds of species that you see every day along the trails! Have you ever used the Inaturalist app?
The Spring Azure is among the first butterflies of the year. Its early spring appearance helps to identify this species. The undersides of the wings are pale gray to whitish, with small dark spots while outer sides are a light blue. Such a pretty, little butterfly…
Wishing you all a Happy Mother’s Day! May you find something new or special outside in nature today!
