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First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

Posted by lgslgs z6 SE ohio (My Page) on
Thu, May 5, 11 at 11:21

Siberian wallflowers are one of my favorite WS flowers. They've done so well that they now self sow, and I direct sow a few extra clumps each year too.

The color of the flowers is amazing, and I guess they must taste pretty good to Monarch butterflies. It's nice to have a food source for them this early in the season.

The video is a slow motion clip of Mr. Monarch feeding. He looks like he's using a drinking straw. :)

Lynda

Here is a link that might be useful: Monarch approves of WS flowers


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

That's totally cool!! Thanks for sharing. Any monarchs around here would need winter coats today!


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

  • Posted by tomva 7-central virginia (My Page) on
    Thu, May 5, 11 at 12:31

Wow the clarity of the video was awesome,it looked like something playing on the nature channel in high def.loved it..


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

  • Posted by sjc48 5 Michigan (My Page) on
    Thu, May 5, 11 at 16:54

Thanks for sharing this - never realized their little "tongue", or whatever you call it, was that long! Never looked close enough to see one doing this!
Shirley!


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

Really pretty! How'd you get so close?


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

Nice video! The colors of the Monarch look beautiful with the flowers. That butterfly looks thirsty. I wonder how far he has traveled? I am jealous you have Monarchs already!


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

Ladyrose - I was about 7 - 10 feet away and the camera has a really good zoom. :)

A lot of the insects also get used to me after a while and let me get closer.


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

  • Posted by pvick z6B NYC (My Page) on
    Thu, May 5, 11 at 22:41

I love how he's hanging on with his legs - determined to get every drop of nectar!

PV


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

That is sooooo cool! I can't wait for them to get here. Though the milkweed is only just now poking its head out of the ground. By the time I see Monarchs they're well into egg-laying mode. Thanks for sharing!

Martha


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

Love it!! Love it!!


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

Thanks so much.
I've never seen anything like it.

I love how - when animals and insects feed, they are so intense- they are just eating, not thinking about paying taxes, or getting their car inspected, just eating.

very zenlike. :)

reminds me of my cat who eats very intensely, and slowly waves her tail as she concentrates, as it seemed like Mr. Monarch is slowly waving back and forth.

Really a treat you give us!


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

I really like when the monarch holds on to the side of the flower like he's holding a drinking cup, like PVick mentioned. It is really amazing to see all of the detail of the activity like this.

I can't wait to see what kind of videos I can get during peak butterfly season.

Lynda


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

What a lovely video. You must have lots of patience to be able to get shots like that for us to appreciate. And we thank you. I grew Siberian Wallflower a few years ago and it was small the first year but it flowered. The second year it disappeared. Then last year a couple of plants appeared near my back fence, some 30 feet or so away. They bloomed, but I never got around to moving them and I fear they won't survive since that area is under water all spring. I must try them again.


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RE: First Monarch - Feeding on Siberian wallflower

Very nice video. You might notice if you download it again and open in a text editor, YT has converted it to .flv

You can save most of them (a few are blocked) without extra software in both a pc and a mac.

I didn't miss mine until I saw yours; they self seeded but came back more sparesely then no more. They were super easy to start from seed.

The first year, I had them planted so thick, they made a splendid show, bloom early and lasted quite a long time.


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