Healthy catapillar

This is my friend Monty. She was a flightless Monarch but she was the coolest gal I’ve ever known. I met her at the farm I work on, and looked after her for a while. Once I found out she had OE, I built her an enclosure and fed her fresh flowers every day. I wanted to give her the best possible life she could have while keeping the rest of the population safe from infection. She passed away today, and although I knew it was coming, I’m pretty heart broken. I thought this sub would enjoy these pictures of my friend.

While she was living with me, we spent a lot of time educating myself and our community about Monarchs, and how to preserve their natural habitats. She was deeply beloved by everyone who got to know her story, myself especially.

rest in peace my sweet Monty, I hope you get to fly in your next life.

Pictures from my front garden this weekend. Golden Colorado

I found this beautiful girl tonight in the middle of a parking lot. It's been getting way colder at night in my area, so the little lady was pretty lethargic when I found her, and there weren't any plants around to rest on. She's all warmed up now and enjoying some tasty sugar water on a napkin until morning when I'll release her into my pollinator garden!

On a different note, if anyone with more experience caring for monarchs has any advice on keeping them comfortable, I'd love to hear it! Right now, she's just been given a 1:6 ratio of sugar water soaked on a piece of paper towel, and I have a plastic colander over her for safe keeping lol.