Monarch

 

Amid the scores of Painted Ladies that have descended on the lantanas and sunflowers: a single, solitary Monarch.  Monarchs tend to appear around here in the late summer, especially on the fringed twinevine (the "milkweed of the desert") which grows over one of the pomegranate bushes.  They will drink from the flowers of the twinevine, and they use it as a host for their larvae, but they also like the lantanas for nectar.  Some years (the Monarchs don't appear around here every year), they form giant swarms along chain-link fences heavily-covered by fringed twinevine.  Monarchs face less danger from predators when they form large groups.  But the Monarch in our garden is all alone.  A few of the Painted Ladies make half-hearted attempts to chase her away, as if saying, “What are you doing here?”  The Monarch isn’t intimidated by them and just keeps sipping from the flowers.

     I never tire of watching butterflies as they spend their days feeding in the burning sun and carrying out mating rituals and laying their eggs, leaving behind colorful and voracious larvae.  They are truly like living flowers, including this solitary Monarch, who circles the garden for a few moments whenever she is disturbed.