Weekend monarch activity

This weekend we released four more monarch butterflies after they eclosed.

Three were male, one female.

The female, shown above on a blackberry vine after she flew from the cage, was hesitant for the a few minutes before she flew out. She turned her head from side to side, inspecting her surroundings.

She rested on the blackberry leaves for a long time, at least an hour, before she decided to further explore the blackberry flowers, and eventually fly away.

And here is another monarch female, possibly one that released last week or earlier (at least, I like to think so), laying eggs on a "Showy Milkweed", a California native milkweed.

The butterfly visited the patio throughout the day, laying a few eggs on our various potted milkweed plants each time she came by. Sometimes she sipped on the nectar of flowers on a butterfly plant or rested in the sun high on the blackberry vines.