I haven’t seen many Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) this season, so I was thrilled when I spotted this one on some goldenrod on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
The habitat of Monarch butterfly has been threatened in recent years both in the United States and in the areas to which Monarchs migrate. According to an article yesterday at oregonlive.com, the Monarch butterfly is currently under government consideration for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
What a stunning photograph, Mike, thanks so much. Long live monarchs….
Thanks, Jet. I worry about species that need protection, especially in the current political environment.
You and me both, Mike.
Nice Mike! We have quite a few at a local park that has a butterfly house that raises butterflies and releases them so there quite a few throughout the gardens. But I have noticed a lot less butterflies around our gardens at home. So it is a concern!
Always happy to see a Monarch.
Both beautiful, and the photo of course!
You may be surprised that Benjamin is well aware of the 1973 Endangered Species Act and how it is being decimated just when it is needed most. I receive newsletters from numerous organizations and share many of them with him. We have discussions about what we can do to help the planet survive the climate crisis too. There are those who feel that he is too young for these topics, I disagree! Benjamin is the face of the future and he must be prepared to be part of it. He could tell you about the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Defenders of Wildlife, National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife federation and EcoWatch to name but a few. Therefore, you will not be surprised by his response when I read this post to him and then enlarged the photo. “Mr. Mike, we need to make sure that these butterflies do not get extinct.” Thank-you, Mr. Mike!!
Wow. That is amazing and wonderful to learn that Benjamin is so knowledgeable about environmental groups and about the need to protect our world. That’s a true testament to your influence, I suspect.
Guilty as charged and proud of it! Benjamin’s hero is not Spiderman, Batman or any of the many that children of his age often revere. Benjamin’s hero is Greta Thunberg. We are both so excited that Greta is right now enroute to New York, traveling on a yacht that lacks the usual amenities because she refuses to fly for environmental reasons. Yesterday we watched a short video of her as she set sail, he was cheering and clapping his hands! I could not have chosen a better role model for him had I tried. Thank-you!
One last thing that I failed to mention in our initial comment…Benjamin and I love this beautiful photo. He was all about the Monarch butterfly and I was drawn to the Goldenrod. I doubt that anyone could fail to love the butterfly, but the same is not true of the Goldenrod. Many people consider it a weed, my Gram was not one of them. She believed that they were good luck, although I no longer recall her reasoning on that. As Winnie the Pooh (A. A. Milne) wisely said : “Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” Thank-you!
Stay tuned. I think I will feature Goldenrod tomorrow too. 🙂 I too never figured out the difference between a weed and a flower. I remember someone telling me that a weed is an unloved flower, which seems to be a variation of the wonderful Winnie the Pooh quote that you cited.
The curve of the head and antennae, and the curve of the flower stalks are very complementary. Love your photo!
Beautiful image, Mike.
They’re just so pretty. We started seeing them here about two weeks ago.
Like you did a great job capturing this beautiful species. I am currently in the midst of an ongoing Series where I track the number of Monarch butterflies in my backyard. The acronym I use is HMBY. About a milkweed plant to try to increase the likelihood of seeing some of these and I have a neighbor that has a registered monarch butterfly weigh station that it’s giving me more seeds to plant for next year.
Thanks. It is really great to hear about your efforts with monarchbutterflies. I live in a townhouse where there is no room to plant much of anything. It must be cool to have monarchs in your own backyard.