This afternoon, while sitting on my porch, I saw the first Monarch butterfly of the year on its way north from Mexico. This will be a new generation that will come back this way as a third generation in fall on its way to the mountains of northern Mexico where it will winter.
The size of the wing span was very large. It was every bit as large as a black swallowtail, upwards of 3-3 1/2 inches across. The color was about as bright was I have ever seen on a Monarch, too. Now, that I know they have made it this far on the central flyway, I'll start watching the reporting stations to see how they progress North. The Great Lakes are still getting snow and that could be a problem in their migration.
