Super Monarchs

 The milkweed stands tall in the corner of the yard holding their dusty lavender bouquets out for the monarchs. It's been a few tough years for the butterflies. Still a few return each year. Last night a single monarch fluttered through our garden. Still later a pair coupled together landed on the edge of a branch to finish their union.

 Soon there will be small cream pearls on the underside of the milkweed leaves. A short time later the leaves will begin to miss small crescents where the newly hatched caterpillars have begun to feed.

When my kids were young we could hardly wait for this day! We'd wander the ditches close to our home collecting the long thin black and yellow tiger striped lava in quart jars filled with milkweed leaves. Once home they were carefully transferred to a screen covered aquarium and fed daily rations of fresh leaves. My kids watched as the pillars rapidly grew into fat little sausages. One morning they would awake to a milky green chrysalis dotted with gold hanging from the screen top.
 

Days would pass and the chrysalis would begin to darken. Then clear to reveal the black and orange of a developing monarch. We kept the monarchs we hatched in our screen porch. Dozens of them fed on sugar water. Some, most, would even come to your extended hand if you had a small pool of the sugar water cupped in your palm. What we didn't know then that we do now is these butterflies were the super generation of monarchs.

Monarchs take five generations to migrate back to Minnesota from Mexico. The pair coupled on the branch are five times removed from their parents who were a super generation. What this means is this: the monarchs we raised and the offspring of this couple will fly all the way back Mexico! Super Monarchs!

I didn't see the the pair finish their coupling or fly away. A male bluebird had taken to hunting in our garden and my attention followed him. I am sure I will see their young appear soon and maybe I will, for old times sake, take some of the young in and bear witness to the birth of something super. Or maybe I will just watch and know of this spectacular event. In any event, the monarchs are back. Enjoy.

Peace,
Karen