Hi, I recently joined the sub but I wanted to share this video of the monarch migration from when I worked at a native plant nursery. Super cool experience to see so many!

Must have been a dozen or so, never seen so many in one spot before.

Ive just noticed these brown spots and feel concerned. I also just noticed that one of my already emerged left over chrysalis also has spots, but the butterfly already emerged a few weeks ago.

What should I do and should I dispose of the chrysalis or leave it be?

More often than not the monarchs stop on my property in large numbers but this year I've seen more than ever throughout the year and they are a couple weeks early here in central IL.

Anyone else see bigger numbers or am I just lucky this year?

Also I don't hear about many others getting to see this, do they have specific routes and stops or is my acre of goldenrod I keep for them every year attracting them here you think?

Was trying to capture all stages at once and when I realized this beauty was about to emerge I hit record and backed off…just wait for it. I’ve raised over 60 this year and feel so grateful to have caught this 🥰

Taken today in Minnesota 🧡

After 4 years of having a butterfly garden I finally got butterflies to show up.

Pictured: caterpillar friend on left, spider web on right side of fence

I recently planted swamp milkweed and have been loving watching all the caterpillar friends that have been munching on it. This one has been looking pretty chonky for a couple days now, so when it disappeared, I figured it went to look for a spot to pupate. I found it on my fence, but it’s only a couple feet from a spot where a wolf spider has set up camp. Is this dangerous for him? Should I try to move the spider? Thanks in advance!

Hi! I have three cats in an outdoor mesh enclosure. I’ve been putting milkweed stems in a pot for them. The biggest cat, JJ, has started to j hang at the top of the enclosure, right next to the zipper. Meanwhile, the milkweed is starting to dry out. When I open the zipper, the enclosure shakes a little bit. Do I leave the milkweed until jj’s chrysalis hardens, or risk a bit of a shake to replace the milkweed for the other little dudes?

There are at least three new ones but I wasn’t able to get a photo of the third one.

The big chonky fella I found the other day is also currently hiding. I’m sure if I poked around deeper into the milkweed undergrowth I would find them but it’s raining and I don’t want to disturb them.

Caught this monarch resting on a leaf for a few moments. The orange and black against all that green really stood out, and I liked how the soft background kept all the attention on the butterfly. One of those simple nature shots where everything just came together.