Several times recently I have noted with regret that I had not yet seen any Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) this summer. On Friday my luck changed and I was absolutely delighted to have multiple encounters with Monarchs during a visit to Green Spring Gardens, a country-run historical garden only a few miles from where I live. Obviously I had been looking for Monarchs in all the wrong places.
I felt carefree as a child as I chased the butterflies all over as they flitted from flower to flower. It was a hot, humid day and it was not long before I was drenched in sweat, but I was content in what I was doing.
I will let the beauty of the Monarchs speak for itself through these photos. I will only add that it was definitely worth the wait.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Beautiful, Mike. I think we’ve seen them here (or those ones that look like them).
Beautiful, Mike. Definitely worth the wait. Thank you for sharing.
All delightful! and the first pic is particularly adorable 🙂
Spectacular photos! I love the monarchs.
Beautiful photo. I love to see Monarchs. They are magical.🦋
Very nice, Mike. I especially like the composition of the first image. Glad that you found the right place to look!
Always a prize.
Beautiful series of images Mike! And I love the smooth soft backgrounds!
Very beautiful. Very endangered.
I especially enjoyed the combination of the Monarch with the orange flower. We’ve had quite a few of them recently, as well as the lookalikes like the Viceroy. It’s fun to be stuck in traffic and see them fluttering across the road, free as can be.
Really worth the wait, Mike. Such stunning colours in sync with the flowers the Monarchs stop on!
Thanks, Chris. I too could not help but notice the color selection of the flowers chosen by the Monarchs. I wonder if they are attracted to the reds, oranges, and yellows or if that was a happy coincidence for my photos.
Poster perfect!
Thanks, Eliza.
Some things are definitely worth waiting for!
And your excellent photographs certainly do the regal subjects justice.
Thanks, Wally. Hail to the Monarchs!
They are so beautiful, you are so lucky to have these wonderful creatures where you live.
Thanks, Rudi. Indeed I am blessed to live in a place where I have a large variety of wildlife of all types.
Nice. I couldn’t get any to sit still for a second.
Thanks, Sherry. I had to run around quite a bit chasing after the monarchs as I waited for them to perch. Once they had done so, I had to shoot quickly, because, as you noted, they don not sit still for very long.
I didn’t wait long enough.
🙂
[…] Monarchs at last […]
[…] a previous posting entitled Monarchs at last, I showed Monarchs feeding on brightly-colored flowers. The background in today’s image is […]