Monarchs Abound

Monarch butterflies have suddenly become more abundant than ever before at Blue Jay Barrens.  During a typical summer, I’m used to seeing a few Monarchs each week.  Things pick up a bit during the fall migration, but this property is outside the primary Monarch migration route, so I usually don’t see multiple butterflies during that time.  This year I’ve been seeing Monarchs on a daily basis, sometimes several at once.  Many of those sightings are centered around the Milkweed plants in front of the house.  The flowers have passed, so that’s not the reason why they are drawn here.

The Monarchs circle the Milkweeds, occasionally setting down for several seconds before moving on.  It’s not always easy to see what they’re up to.

This is a common perching position.  While clinging to the edge of the leaf, the Monarch probes the underside with the tip of its abdomen.  Just a brief stop and then it moves on.

In most cases, an egg is left behind.  With luck, this will be an adult Monarch by next month.

Monarchs depositing eggs on the Common Milkweed near the house is something that happens every year.  This year the Monarchs are leaving their eggs on several other members of the milkweed family, which is something I’ve rarely seen them do.  I watched this Monarch visiting a patch of Butterfly Weed and noticed that its brief visitations to the flowers had nothing to do with nectaring.  I headed over to see if I could find any eggs.

I got sidetracked by the discovery of Monarch caterpillars already present on the Butterfly Weed.  These plants are growing in an area that was mowed in late May as part of a Sweet Clover control plan, so the plants are at an earlier stage of growth than most others in the area.

There were a lot of droppings on the leaves beneath the caterpillars, but it was difficult to see where they had been feeding.  Then I noticed the short stubs at the base of the flower clusters and realized they were all that was left of the consumed flower.

Uncommon at Blue Jay Barrens is the Swamp Milkweed.  That’s to be expected in an area that is primarily classified as a xeric environment.  A few Swamp Milkweed plants survive in sand and gravel deposits along the creek.  This is a shaded, mostly wooded environment that normally doesn’t attract open field travelers like Monarch Butterflies.

The Swamp Milkweed flower head is more erect and less dense than that of the Common Milkweed.  Each flower in the cluster has room to display itself as an individual.

The side veins in the leaf come away from the main vein in an acute angle that’s plain to see.  While admiring the leaves, I noticed that most were displaying some familiar holes.

Monarch caterpillar on the Swamp Milkweed.  This is the first time I’ve ever found Monarch caterpillars on this species.

I went on to count eight caterpillars on this single plant.  I wish them luck in their development.  Their survival depends much on the weather.  A heavy rain storm can quickly bring the creek to flash flood condition and that would lay this plant flat.  The plant can survive that type of treatment, but the caterpillars would probably be lost.  This unprecedented breeding effort by Blue Jay Barrens Monarchs would almost make you believe that the butterflies were aware of their declining numbers and were doing their best to turn the trend around.  I’m just happy to have this opportunity to enjoy such a marvelous creature.

Swamp Milkweed

I had a request for fewer spiders and snakes and more flowers, so when I saw this Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata, I figured the soft pastels of the bloom would certainly satisfy anyone’s flower cravings. I try to provide a mix of subjects in my posts, but I don’t post any photos more than seven days old and that means I’m always limited to what I’ve recently seen and managed to capture with my camera. Besides, I like spiders and snakes and most everything else I find outside. But today we’re looking at a flower and I’m not even going to mention the insects crawling upon and within the blooms.

When you read descriptions of milkweed flowers, you’ll see the terms Hood and Horn which refer to some specially shaped flower parts. The hoods are the cup shaped affairs that look like wall sconces and the horns are the curved tapering candle-like things coming from the hoods. The shapes of hood and horn help to identify the plant to species. It looks to me like the horns are trying to protect an iced cupcake in the center of the flower.

Swamp Milkweed always has a light, airy appearance. I don’t know which milkweed species would win the prize for most attractive flower. It always seems to me that the prettiest milkweed is the one that happens to be in front of me at the time.

You might wonder how any plant with the term swamp in its name could survive the super dry conditions normally found at Blue Jay Barrens. Swamp Milkweeds need plenty of water and in this area that means the creek.

This plant is growing right out of the creek bottom. This section of the creek normally dries up during the summer, but there’s always a little bit of water left down beneath the rocks. The abundant rainfall this year has allowed the creek to maintain its moisture longer than normal into the summer.

It doesn’t look like the plant has a very secure hold on the ground. That’s quite a mass of roots exposed to the air. The dead stalks from the previous year’s growth show that this is an older plant, but the creek bed may not be the best place for a long term existence. Perhaps this plant will produce enough seeds to get a patch of Swamp Milkweed growing on the more stable creek bank.