Fly Away

 

This monarch butterfly couldn't, well, fly. At first. She fluttered but couldn't lift off. If you look closely, on the right side the hind wing was on top of the forewing, for reasons unknown. Unlike the butterfly in my latest monarch post, this one shows no signs of age/wear, which makes me wonder if perhaps it is newly hatched...

I decided to move her onto this pentas plant so at least she could get some nutrition from the nectar; she very happily began to feed. When I came out an hour or so later, there was no sign of her, so I assume (hope!) that she somehow managed to fly away. They are toxic to birds--and the birds know it and do not try to consume them--so there isn't really another explanation.

This is before I moved her to the plant...she went for a walk up my arm.

The next day, there was a monarch fluttering around the yard--I like to think that it was this butterfly coming back for a victory lap.