Monarch
I did not know the monarch butterfly goes through four generations in a summer. The first three remain local. The last generation is the one that heads south to Mexico. I have not seen any butterflies in my neighborhood. But we have seen the caterpillars. And now I have seen a cocoon. It’s interesting that I got this far and have never seen one. But here it is. It’s equally amazing that there are gold dots along the top of the cocoon. And if you look closely you can see the developing butterfly. Yeah, all these years and I’m still learning new stuff.
Monarch Butterfly
When I lived in West Virginia the summer was filled with monarchs. I have not seen them much since I lived in New York. Now there was a time in Maine when monarchs were a side benefit of traveling to visit a lighthouse. I’d like to say they are a frequent find. But monarchs have been in decline in recent years.