COMBINATION PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST FROM @PAPA-PEPPER – WEEK 4 - The Monarch - Queen of the Butterflies
This my first entry this week for the Combination Photography Contest from @papa-pepper. If you haven’t checked it out, you definitely must go there. There are many great entries.
https://steemit.com/contest/@papa-pepper/combination-photography-contest-from-papa-pepper-week-4
There are many animals and bugs where I live but the proof bit is the hardest. These critters never sit still. But this morning I was lucky. Yes that’s a Monarch butterfly sitting on my hand.
The Monarch (Danaus plexippus) is probably the best known butterfly out there. This beauty must have emerged from its chrysalis this morning. When they are that young, you can easily handle them. This one crawled on my hand on it’s own. Luckily I had my piece of ‘proof-paper’ handy.
But a man's hand is no place for a butterfly so I put it back on some flowers. With some more proof.
The Monarch is a Milkweed species. They have a strong relation with this weed. The Larvae of the Monarch eats the leaves of the milkweed.
This is its larvae in its final stage looking for a place to pupate.
This an older photograph of a Monarch on a milkweed flower.
Here is the same flower with a little wasp and a spider.
Speaking of wasps, there was a whole swarm of them in my garden the other day maybe you want to check them out.
Some photographs that I took earlier this year.
I like to thank @papa-pepper for running these contests they are great fun.
Thanks and much love,
Gardenbsquared
I love monarchs... when I was little, my family would go out and catch a caterpillar along with a bunch of milkweed and keep it in a large jar to watch the process! As soon as a butterfly emerged we would set it free. It was so cool to see up close! Lovely photos!
Thank you. It's a wonder to see them emerge from their chrysalis.
These are great photos! My entire family loves Monarchs. I have even stopped to visit Monarch Watch in Lawrence, Kansas a number of times on cross country trips. They have a nice butterfly garden and inside the building you can see them in other stages of life. I recommend a stop there if you're ever in the area. They do a lot of work to promote the idea of Savin spaces all over the country for monarch friendly plants like milkweed, etc.
I might have to dig up some photos from there at some point :)
Thank you. We are lucky to have them in the garden. I make sure to keep all the milkweed and never weed it out. It's great to see them.
Every time i look at your pictures, i just can't believe the quality of it. I am glad that thanks to this participation, I also have proof that you are actually taking them yourself. Very, very cool stuff @gardenbsquared.
Thank you. I hope there was never any doubt? LOL.