Monarchs and Painted Ladies

Monarchs and Painted Lady butterflies have waltzed through September, and much of October together, without a thought for the Winter social season down South.  They've been feasting on the nectar of flowers, and basking in the sunshine here in the North.  The unusually wet Eastern Canadian Summer, and hot, sunny weeks in September, have produced a lot of nectar, and kept butterflies in the Northern Hemisphere.

They're having a nectar banquet, storing energy for the long voyage to Mexico.  The four thousand kilometre (about 2,500 mile) journey will take about six to eight weeks.  They're in no hurry to pack their bags. 

Even for a daytime luncheon, the butterflies really dress up!  Monarchs are larger than the Painted Lady butterflies.  Their deep orange coloured wings are rimmed in black, with white polka dots.  Monarch wings are veined, and look much like stained glass windows.

Painted Lady butterflies are smaller, and move more quickly.  Their wings too, are orange and black, however they're dappled with colour.  The black and white pattern is found only in the top corner of the front wings.  Their upper bodies are a blue green colour, and they look like they're wearing a silk bodice or vest.

The Viceroy butterfly is a no show at this gathering.  It is often mistaken for a Monarch.  The Viceroy has a distinctive black line, running in a semi-circle across the hind wings.  Only true Monarchs at this garden party!

The male Monarch (above) is taking a rest from fluttering.  How can you tell if it's male or female?  Do you see the small, black oval shaped dot on one of the thin veins near the tail of the butterfly?  That is one of the butterfly's scent glands - and only the males have them.  The female butterflies do not have these oval dots, and their veins are thicker.

Here's a female Monarch (above and below).  You can see the veins are wider, and she has no black oval dot alongside the vein near her tail.  Not only that, she has a Ladybug-in-waiting with her!  An Asian Ladybug, wearing a bright yellow and black polka-dotted suit is in attendance.

More and more guests arrive at the party, savouring the buffet lunch.  

A Painted Lady glances over at the bee, and realizing that she is not the Queen bee, relaxes her wings just a little.   A butterfly can't truly relax...after all, the butterfly paparazzi (that would be me) are here!

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams,  Widow's Endorphines Photographic Images Incorporated.

Monarch Butterflies

For some, the sight of a butterfly is a loving sign from a deceased loved one, that they are ever near. Cultures around the world, from the Japanese, Chinese, and Russians, to North America's Indigenous peoples, see butterflies as symbols of souls, transformation or rebirth.  The ancient Greek word for butterfly - psyche - means soul.  In Mexico, where millions of Monarch butterflies arrive in late Fall, around All Souls Day and the Day of the Dead, the butterflies are thought to be returning souls.

Ironically, Monarch butterflies are threatened with extinction.  The US Center for Biological Diversity says the Monarch butterfly population has declined 80% over the past decades.  In July, their Senior Scientist, Tierra Curry wrote, "On top of the loss of milkweed in its Summer grounds, logging in its Winter home in Mexico has increased, a severe storm this Spring killed millions of Monarchs, and a mine now threatens the Monarch Biosphere Reserve."  Curry says the "catastrophic decline" in the Monarch population is in part due to the use of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide on genetically engineered Roundup resistant crops.  Milkweed is killed.  Milkweed is the only source of food for Monarch larvae.

Monarchs are a symbol of transformation, and of rebirth.  They metamorphosize from larvae, to caterpillar, to butterfly.  I have a coffee mug with the inspirational words, Just when the caterpillar thought its life was over, it became a butterfly.  It took on a whole new meaning, when my husband was finally listed for a liver transplant.  It takes on yet another meaning, now that I am in the "pupa stage", recreating my life as a widow. 

      
Schoolchildren learn about the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly.  For those of us who've forgotten: the butterfly eggs are laid on the Milkweed plant, and the larvae hatch, and feed on it exclusively, growing into fat caterpillars.  The caterpillars then encase themselves in a hard, protective shell, and transform from this pupa stage, to emerge from the cocoon as butterflies.

As the days grow shorter, and the light changes, Monarch butterflies begin their migration from Canada and the US, into Mexico.  It's an arduous journey of 5-thousand kilometres, or 3-thousand miles to the warmth of their Mexican Winter home.

A 56-thousand hectare, or 140-thousand acre Monarch butterfly reserve in Mexico, is now a Unesco World Heritage Site. The government funds indigenous farmers in the mountain region to preserve the Monarchs.  There, the butterflies hibernate, until the siren call of Canada's northern climes stirs them.

I'll bet you didn't know that two dots distinguish the male Monarch from the female.  If you look closely at the photo above, you'll see two black oval shaped dots on a straight black vein, on either side of the tail of the Monarch.  It's a boy butterfly!

Did you know that the Monarch was the first butterfly to have its genome sequenced?  They were also transported to the International Space Station for breeding.  They truly are regarded as the monarchs of the butterfly world!

Science loves the Monarch, and so do The Arts.  I've added new designs to my Art of Where clothing line, based on the photo of the Monarch butterfly taken in Toronto's High Park last week. Great for those of you heading to Mexico for the Winter!

http://bit.do/draped-kimono

http:/bit.do/flare-dresses
http://bit.do/AOWbodycon

http:/bit.do/kimonos

Photographs and Designs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Inc.