A rare beauty - monarch butterfly

Linda and I were in Oakville today to celebrate our niece Lindsay's 25th birthday. In the garden, this monarch flitted through and landed on a plant. If you look carefully, there is a spider also on the same plant. No harm done. It flew away safely. Monarchs used to be plentiful but climate change and eradication of milkweed plants and their winter habitat has depleted their numbers. Fortunately, governments in Mexico, the USA, and Canada have started to protect their habitats and encourage the growth of (or leaving alone of) milkweed plants.

Wikipedia.