The few Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) that I observed earlier this season were all in gardens, so I was especially happy when I spotted one this past weekend in the wild, feeding on some Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) at my local marsh.
The little patch of Swamp Milkweed was a pretty good distance away, so I had to use the long end of my 70-300mm zoom for these shots. It looks like many of the flowers of the milkweed had not yet opened, but the butterfly obviously found it to be attractive enough to stop for a moment.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
We haven’t seen any up here 😦
Very nice photos, Mike. Sometimes one has to chase them around to capture them. Looks like it posed nicely. The Monarchs have been here as well, much more than last year.
Gorgeous photos, I have been watching the number of butterfly’s closely to measure the health of our local eco system, I am very concerned since I see lower numbers.
Nice shots. I’ve seen 3 or 4 this year but they were just passing through and wouldn’t sit still.
There aren’t as many here as usual either