When is the last time you saw a monarch?

[Captain Ahab]

saw a whole bunch of the little ones in my yard too just the other day - ha ha ha

I haven't seen many true monarchs the last while, but I've seen lots of these. Are they painted ladies?

 

[db-2]

I have seen a number of butterfly like the one in the picture but I do not believe I have seen any monarch for quite some time. But then I guess I have other things on my mind when in the bush. There was one called a viceroy that looked like a monarch but smaller. Not sure what the above is called. db

 

[Auggie]

Drove to Carrington today. Saw them the whole way. They were especially thick from Fessenden to New Rockford.

 

[PrairieGhost]

I haven't seen many true monarchs the last while, but I've seen lots of these. Are they painted ladies?

I think that's a Red Admiral. I am seeing a lot of Fritillaries in my yard the past few days.

The Viceroy you mentioned is a good example of what they call batesian mimicry. The poison in milk weed is taken up by the larvae of Monarchs and passed on to the adult. It makes them poisonous to birds. The Viceroy mimics the Monarch to keep birds away. You can debate this from a evolutionary standpoint and some will think it points to evolution, or you can admit it's simply part of God's creation.

 

[guywhofishes]

I haven't seen many true monarchs the last while, but I've seen lots of these. Are they painted ladies?

Admiral - I was joshing around.

 

[gone_fishing]

I don't know what kind of butterfly they are (small black/orange) but I have hit 1000's of them over the last couple weeks. The front of my pickup looks like some sort of modern art painting.

 

[Sub_Elect]

I saw one a bit ago on the deck.

 

[PrairieGhost]

Admiral - I was joshing around.

I knew you were filling us full of bull for kicks.

 

[littlefish]

some of the soybean fields in the valley have millions of thistle catapillars. I believe they turn into painted ladys but most wont make it
past the lorsban

 

[Auggie]

some of the soybean fields in the valley have millions of thistle catapillars. I believe they turn into painted ladys but most wont make it
past the lorsban

About the only thing now that you could justify an insecticide application would be sunflowers. There's not many of them in the valley. Hopefully economic thresholds are considered.

 

[guywhofishes]

I knew you were filling us full of bull for kicks.

I bet it was the "ha ha ha" that tipped you off?

 

[PrairieGhost]

I bet it was the "ha ha ha" that tipped you off?

Uffda ::closerlook:::

 

[MuskyManiac]

I snapped a couple pictures from our front flowerbed at noon. Also got a picture of a hummingbird this morning on one of our plants.

 

[tikkalover]

Are these a young monarch or something else? Hundreds of them around Fort Stevenson

 

[fly2cast]

Are these a young monarch or something else? Hundreds of them around Fort Stevenson

That's not one.

 

[Enslow]

I had a swarm of grasshoppers riding on the hood of my truck last night. They like rides.

 

[tikkalover]

Painted Lady Butterflies are a promising sign for North Dakota

If you spend any time outside, you can't miss them. Butterflies are everywhere. Aside from being nice to look at and take photos of, they're taking advantage of record temperatures, hoping to lay a foundation for future generations of butterflies.
"I have never seen this many before. We've seen a few here and there but never this many,” said Ashley Peyer, who went to the Dakota Zoo to see the butterflies.
Favorable weather in the South allowed the Painted Lady Butterfly population to boom. Dakota Zoo director Terry Lincoln says it's nice to see butterflies around the zoo again.
"It doesn't take much to make a butterfly hatch go bad as we kind of look at monarchs and what has happened to them. They had several years of just bad hatch seasons,” said Lincoln.
The unseasonably warm temperatures around the state are perfect for snapping photos, but the butterflies won't be around forever.
"They're starting to do their thing. They don't hang around here but as they come through migrating, we get an opportunity to enjoy them,” said Lincoln.
"They do love the butterflies. This will definitely want to rope them in for next time. I think this is their new favorite part,” said Peyer.
The plants will enjoy their stay too. Butterflies act as pollinators just like bees.
"It's really neat to kind of see these guys cooperating. You see butterflies, bumblebees, and honeybees. They're all very important,” said Lincoln.
But they will hang around only while the weather stays war

 

[dean nelson]

Been watching since this thread was posted and have yet to see a single monarch. Like everyone else I've seen a bitch load of the little ones but no true monarchs. Be bad if ours died out since they are the ones that cary to population through the winter in Mexico.

 

[Rowdie]

I haven't seen many true monarchs the last while, but I've seen lots of these. Are they painted ladies?

For the last 2 weeks there are millions of these around. Just noticed them one day. Then later drove to Mobridge and they were thick the whole way. I've been watching them out at the school and seen a few Monarchs flying around with them.

 

[Colonel Angus]

yard was full of them this weekend

I was mistaken, those were painted ladies. I have had a few dozen monarchs in the yard in the last week though.