Last week, two of our friends from Colorado fluttered in for a short but sweet visit.
I took them to the Desert Botanical Gardens to see all the varieties of desert plants, namely cacti. We were lucky enough to be there while they had the Monarch Butterfly exhibit.
It was a beautiful morning to walk around, see all the different varieties of cactus, chit chat with each other, and see the butterflies close up.
It is a well monitored screened pavilion with lots and lots of Monarch butterflies and some very pretty Arizona foliage. The butterflies were everywhere and we were able to stand so close to them.
The docents told us about a tagging program that they have. They tag some of the butterflies with a light weight tag-the docent said it was like a little sequin. They release the butterflies with the hopes that when they get to the end of their life cycle, someone might find the butterfly with the tag still on it, or just the tag itself. Using the info that is printed on the tag they hope to be contacted by the finder and they will then track the location to see how far the butterfly traveled, since being tagged and released. I didn't think to ask how successful the program is or how far they have tracked them (there were a lot of school children there so it was a little busy) but, I wish that I had asked a few more questions.
We did learn how to tell a male from a female though. This one is the male. Do you see the two small dots on the veins next to his body? They are actually sacs which are called alar. It is a cell that manufactures a scent to attract the females.
And here she is. The female. They have broader, darker veins. One of the docents said it was like a little extra "eye liner".
The whole screened in pavilion was kept cool and misted with water . The plants were beautiful. If it weren't for the groups of children that were passing through and the maximum occupant number, we might have been tempted to just sit down and stay for a long while.
Just sit and watch.
It was just so peaceful to watch them flutter around our heads, hang quietly on the screen and sit on the flowers and trees. Listening to some of the comments from the kids, after learning how to tell the males from females was pretty cute too.
As we were exiting, I looked up and saw this one sitting perfectly on the thanks for visiting sign. Perfectly positioned by the painted graphics.
It was an enjoyable morning. The next day and a half were enjoyable too. We were very happy to have a visit from our friends and celebrating a special birthday was pretty great too. We had some good laughs, some great moments reminiscing our friendship and certainly enjoyed adding more great memories to our friendship journey.
No garden truly blooms until butterflies have danced upon it
- K. D'Angelo
To my two J friends ... dance in and visit our gardens again soon please.
~norma
Beautiful pictures and thanks for the biology lesson. I shared the excitement of seeing a Monarch emerge from its chrysalis with my class of first graders one year. We were sitting at the reading table and watched it wriggle out like someone trying to get out of a tight turtle-neck sweater. It was amazing. Nature at its best.
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