late Monarch aug 24.09

[freda]

Not sure where this would be best posted so I'll start here. First of all, I'm not in "the West." I'm in Kenora, Ontario but so close to the MB border that we identify more with that province than with what happens in southern Ontario.

We've had a very late, cool, wet summer, not promising for Monarchs. June 24-26th we suddenly had about 100 eggs that I could see easily without looking carefully. I left, returned July 12th and found very few caterpillars. Even fewer as the month progressed. This wasn't a year for me to consider indoor rearing. YESTERDAY, AUGUST 24.09 I found a very fresh Monarch at our cottage! Very fresh and very late! I did get photos. What a treat!