See ya, wouldn't want to bee ya!

After a whole summer of trying to get a photo of a monarch butterfly, it was shooed away by a bumblebee. 

That's not really what happened.  That sentiment just makes a better lede than, I finally found a cooperative monarch to pose for me. ​

The female monarch, as identified by a Facebook friend, was feeding on the Mexican sunflowers last week.  In fact, most of the photos in this post were all of the one butterfly. 

I had spotted two monarchs earlier in the season, but they didn't stick around for photos. I am holding out hope that maybe migration hasn't gotten into full swing yet and I will soon see a higher number of the regal black and orange butterflies. 

However, the monarch has made headlines lately and not for a good reason. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the butterfly to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered."

I was disheartened when I saw this declaration. I very much look forward every year to the monarchs arrival. 

While my sightings of monarchs are limited, the number of fritillaries feeding on the garden flowers seemed to have increased this season. 

I have seen at least seven at a time feeding on the Mexican sunflowers.

They have pretty much been a daily staple over the past few weeks.

It was amazing to watch them drop out the sky to feed.

​Of course, there was the occasional territorial dispute.  

I also noticed several eastern tiger swallowtails this season. Some were starting to look a little worn. 

According to my observations, spicebush swallowtails seemed to be doing well. They were both sighted in the woodlands and on a variety of garden flowers. 

Meanwhile, the bumblebees continued to relish feeding on the sunflowers. Whether or not they are truly "bee-lligerent" towards butterflies is only a question Mother Nature can answer.

That's just the nature of things 'round here.