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Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Showy Lady's Slippers and a Monarch!
I saw a Monarch butterfly the other day, quite a surprise for this early in the season, and hopefully a sign of more to come! The Milkweeds aren't even blooming yet.
I was in the right spot at the right moment, and caught it feeding on the Valerian, like all those other butterflies I shared on Friday. It only stayed for a moment before fluttering away.
The orange and black pattern is unmistakable, though very similar to the Viceroy I included in last Friday's post. If you compare the lower hind wing in this photo to that of the Viceroy, the fifth photograph here, you'll see that the Viceroy has a black line cutting across, while the Monarch does not. The Monarch is also noticeably bigger; in fact that's what I first noticed.
We've also had our small patch of Showy Lady Slipper's blooming the past week. One of our real treats over the summer season, these beautiful wildflowers have been very much at home in our garden.
We purchased them at the local farmer's market a few years back, and much though I object to the digging up of native plants, they have flourished and expanded in our old fencerow among the Hostas and Ferns.
The garden is just going to get brighter for the next 3 months, but it's hard to beat these delicate beauties!
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Love the Lady Slippers! We have pink ones around here that bloom in May. Once in a while you might find a yellow one, but I've never seen these Showy ones. So beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteYour Showy Lady's Slippers are beautiful! We have planted them from tissue culture seedlings several times with no luck. However we have good luck with the Yellow Lady's Slippers. Always fun to know they are thriving elsewhere. We have an early MIlkweed that blooms before all the rest:)
ReplyDeleteWonderful butterfly shots! And I like those lady slippers. We don't have flowers like that in Oregon.
ReplyDeleteThese are all beautiful photos. We had two years of drought so the monarch's quit migrating through our state. I have only seen pink lady slippers once in Minnesota many summers ago. They are such a beautiful orchids.
ReplyDeleteThey are beauties.
ReplyDeleteBoth are gorgeous. Lovely captures.
ReplyDeleteAny day you see a Monarch it's a great day.
ReplyDeleteWe have fairy slippers that I've seen in the wilderness, but we don't have anything quite like these beauties. Great capture of the monarch, too! :-)
ReplyDeleteA pleasure to see a monarch!
ReplyDeleteLovely captures...:)
ReplyDeleteWe have swallowtails right now, but haven't ever seen a monarch where we live. - Margy
ReplyDeleteAll these pics are wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWonderful to see the Monarch butterfly already! I hope they are making a good comeback this year. The photos of the Lady's Slipper are beautiful. They are such a pretty pink. I'm glad they are thriving there along your fencerow.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful flowers! But to see a monarch is special. I have not seen one nor found an egg on any milkweed here in NY.... Michelle
ReplyDeleteI am on the Texas Gulf Coast and there are very few Monarchs this year. We've had a extraordinarily wet May and June so that may have something to do with it. Love the photos of the Lady Slippers!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous lady slippers!! Supposedly the Showy grow in Wisconsin but are a plant of special concern and I've not seen one.
ReplyDelete