Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Asclepias speciosa

I think the left hand end of this beautiful Monarch caterpillar is the head end : ) Seen in someone's garden after our day of botanizing at Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, 15 July 2012. Monarchs feed on Milkweed, in this case Showy Milkweed.

Showy Milkweed is growing in someone's garden and I was lucky enough to finally see a few Monarch caterpillars. I've seen so many beautiful photos taken by other people over the years and never thought I'd get the chance to see a Monarch. This year, though, has been unusual, as people have been seeing a few of these amazing butterflies in Alberta, including in Calgary. www.monarch-butterfly.com/ I found this beautiful, time-lapse video (only four and a half minutes long) on YouTube. Worth looking at if you have a few moments to spare. "It shows the entire lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly from a tiny caterpillar hatching from an egg on a Milkweed leaf through metamorphosis to become a glorious adult butterfly. Filmed utilizing high powered microscopic cameras and time-lapse photography. Produced for the Chicago Nature Museum in Chicago, IL." youtu.be/7AUeM8MbaIk The link below is to an article by CBC News, about the surprise appearance of Monarch butterflies in Central Alberta this summer. www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/06/20/monarch-butte... If you have more free time, this is a longer video by NOVA, about the amazing 2,000-mile migration of Monarchs to a sanctuary in the highlands of Mexico. video.pbs.org/video/1063682334

I'm always fascinated by Milkweed and the seedpods of the plant. Such a neat shape and texture, full of those tiny, hairy, compressed seeds.

Saw these amazing Milkweed seedpods yesterday in someone's garden. The seeds are packed so tightly that it is difficult to tell that they are lying in a compacted mass of fine, silky hairs.