In Feburary I took a trip to Santa Cruz, CA to see the over-wintering sites of the Western Monarchs. I was at Lighthouse Point one morning and saw this male Monarch basking in the sun. Notice its faded color & tattered wings. Maybe a predator? No doubt a long hard fight from Canada.
Here you see a pair mating. It was funny because they fly so gracefully. Then the male latches on to the female in mid-flight and they both clumsily fall down to earth.
Monarch Habitat sign at Lighthouse Point in Santa Cruz, Ca. Feb '03.
Cool! I haven't seen any butterfly habitat preserved before. I have seen more tattered butterflies than that guy, but he is a little beaten up.
