And it was the second one I’ve seen in my flowering plants in the past week.
I was surprised as I would have thought the Monarchs would have headed west before they get to the South Carolina coast.
But as it turns out that there is a very, very interesting thing going on with the Monarchs in South Carolina: some here on the coast stay here all year, which is a conclusion made after years of study. Here is a quote from the article linked below from the South Carolina Division of Natural Resources:
“The recently published research indicates that monarch butterflies live year-round in South Carolina, relying on swamps in spring, summer and fall and sea islands in the winter. While these monarchs rely heavily on aquatic milkweed (Asclepias perennis) as a host plant for their eggs and caterpillars, they were also found to use swallow-wort (Pattalias palustre) – a viney relative of milkweed that grows near salt marshes and was previously unrecognized as an important host plant for monarchs.
“This research adds another layer of nuance to the fascinating story of the monarch butterfly,” said SCDNR associate marine scientist and first author Dr. Michael Kendrick.”
https://www.dnr.sc.gov/news/2023/Jul/jul11-butterflies.php
The monarchs upstate (to the north and west) in South Carolina are migrating likely to Mexico. Here’s an article from Clemson University:
And, here’s a link to information about Monarch migration in the United States:
https://monarchwatch.org/migration/
Who knew?
But, life happens…
Which is one of the marvels of Mother Earth.
Louisa Enright's Blog 