Monarch populations rebuilding nicely in California & Nevada

[Paul Cherubini]

On July 17-18 I traveled to known monarch breeding habitats
in central California and western Nevada and found monarchs on                                               
the wing at most milkweed patches.   One milkweed patch located
on highway 50 about 70 miles east of Sacramento, Calif., is 
particularly remarkable because the milkweed is growing on
a steep roadside embankment with cars, trucks, buses and semi-
trucks passing by at 50 MPH.  Male monarchs patrolling the milkweed
patch and female monarchs laying eggs seemed unfazed by all the
noise and turbulence created by the traffic.  Below are several
pictures I took of a female monarch laying eggs at this roadside
milkweed patch: 

http://www.saber.net/~monarch/1a.jpg
http://www.saber.net/~monarch/2a.jpg
http://www.saber.net/~monarch/3a.jpg
http://www.saber.net/~monarch/4a.jpg
http://www.saber.net/~monarch/5a.jpg
http://www.saber.net/~monarch/6a.jpg
http://www.saber.net/~monarch/7a.jpg
http://www.saber.net/~monarch/8a.jpg
http://www.saber.net/~monarch/9a.jpg
http://www.saber.net/~monarch/10a.jpg

Paul Cherubini
Placerville, Calif.

 
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