Almost Done...

Four big healthy male monarch butterflies emerged today, leaving only two chrysalids remaining in the Monarch Mansion.  These four males are all hanging out which is kind of unusual.  They all emerged this morning so when they were becoming active in the Mansion, I gently let each crawl onto my finger and then put them on branches in the sun to fly when ready.  Two flew a short distance, to the side of the house, where they are just sunbathing at the moment.  This one and another are still on their launching pads.  It is 66 F right now which is plenty warm enough for them to fly but overcast skies are probably making them go a little slower.  

I chose this particular image because it shows the little "smudge" on the wing that allows me to know it is a male.  When the wings are open, it is very easy to see the scent patch that the males all have on their hindwings, but when the wings are folded, it is somewhat trickier to see.  But if you look the thickest black stripe on his hindwing, you can easily see the smudge on the line, almost as if someone applied an eraser to wet paint.  Easy when you know what to look for!

Today's butterflies were released in memory of the lives lost this past week in the US and Nepal due to extreme weather events.

Hubs had a meeting in NYC today so he has been gone all day, leaving Jax and I to our own devices.  Because we stayed up late watching the VP debate last night, I was tired so Jax and I ended up taking an unexpected snooze on the sofa this morning.  Very nice and I felt great after!  Speaking of the debate....it was a very civil affair.  It also didn't really reveal anything new about either candidate as most of their comments were related to their own running mates.  Still, it was nice to see them behaving with respect towards each other, something that seems to be missing in much of the political interaction these days.

Almonds dusted in dark chocolate today...

xo
Debbi