Seven monarchs released this weekend

This past weekend we released a record amount of seven monarchs.

Two females emerged and were released on Saturday afternoon.

Two more male butterflies emerged that day, but by the time they would have been ready to release there weren't enough warm, sunny hours remaining that late afternoon, so they had to wait until the next day for release. Fortunately, when the sun sets and the temperatures are a little cooler, the butterflies roost under the lid of the mesh hampers, so they don't get anxious or restless.

On Sunday morning two males and a female emerged.

At noon we released the two males who emerged the previous day, and then a few hours later the other three monarchs were released.

All but two of them immediately fluttered up in the air upon release, soaring in the breeze.

When the last two male monarchs were released, another monarch visited the backyard.

It darted through the garden as if to demonstrate how wonderful it is to fly.

This is one of the last two male butterflies that we released on Sunday.

It absorbed the warmth of the sun on the Oaklandia passionflower vine for fifteen minutes before it flew away.