Nature Observation - Monarch Butterfly

Every middle school student in Texas and probably the United States undoubtedly learns about the life-cycle of the monarch butterfly at some piont. We learned about the transition from and egg to a caterpillar to a chrysalis to a fully-grown butterfly in the fifth grade. At the time, it just seemed like another science lesson, but as I reflect on it today, I realize just how fascinating the monarch butterfly is.

On one of my early morning visits to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens last week, I stopped to sit for just a moment, and a monarch butterfly landed on a flower about two feet from where I was sitting. I observed it for a few minutes until it flew away. Then, I followed it around for half an hour around the garden.

I had to do a quick refresher on the anatomy and life-cycle of the butterfly, but it came back to me relatively quickly. I followed the monarch around for a few minutes until it landed on a large bush of small, lavender-pink, daisy-like flowers called Coreopsis “Limerock Passion” (Tickseed). The center of the flower glowed with an orange hue, complimenting the monarch’s colors. The monarch itself flapped its wings slightly as it tried to sip nectar from the freshly-bloomed flower. The dark black veins on its wings and the two large spots on its hind wings indicated to me that he was a male. As I approached him trying to get a closer picture, he spread his wings and flapped them faster as if to scare me away or tell me to keep my distance. Either that or he was trying to show off, both of which I understand. If I were his size, I would want the giant human to keep his distance, too. On the other hand, if I had beautiful, bright orange wings, I would probably show them off, too.

He floated from flower to flower gracefully but still with a purpose. When he was feeding, he made slow movements with his wings. When travelling to another flower on the same plant, he flew slowly, but when he decided to find another source of food, his movements became more sporadic and purposeful. During the half hour I watched him wonder around the garden, he returned to the Pink Peppermint Lace Crape Myrtle the most. There was only one of these in the garden, so his patterns were fairly consistent. To the daisies, to the mist-flowers, and back to the Crape Myrtle.

Several other animals were wondering throughout the garden, such as lizards, hummingbirds, and black birds. The monarch seemed to disregard the other animals, even if they were competing for the same food sources. The hummingbirds would dive down and fight with one another over the same flower, but the monarch was left alone the whole time. Minding his own business, he floated from flower to flower. He didn’t bother anyone, and nobody bothered him. He was on a mission to survive, even if it is only for 2-6 weeks.