September 6, 2014

To make a prairie it takes a puffball and one monarch...

One puffball...

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and a monarch,

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And a bookmark.
The bookmark alone will do...

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If monarchs are few.
Posted by Ann Althouse at 7:16 PM
Tags: , , , ,

7 comments:

Quaestor said...

That one looks a bit wormy. But keep looking for one without holes. Puffballs are delicious.

9/6/14, 7:20 PM
Ann Althouse said...

It was the size of a baseball. Could have made a lot of whatever one makes with puffballs.

9/6/14, 7:29 PM
theo said...

You just saute them with butter, garlic and salt&pepper.

Over toast is best.

9/6/14, 8:22 PM
traditionalguy said...

Vivaldi's Four Seasons has played down to the third season in my mind. Music is on my mind when Emily Dickinson is on your mind.

9/6/14, 8:26 PM
George M. Spencer said...

And, lo, behold Tavurvur's shockwave.

9/6/14, 9:16 PM
Fritz said...

The Monarch better hustle; it's a long way to Mexico.

9/6/14, 10:10 PM
Quaestor said...

The Monarch better hustle; it's a long way to Mexico.

I'd heard of Monarch migration but I've never looked into to it.

Here's what I learned: No individual Monarch completes the migration. An early spring or mid-summer Monarch only lives about 40 days, so what happens is the butterfly gradually moves south or north along a migratory route, lays its eggs on a milkweed, then dies. When those eggs hatch the offspring eventually become adult butterflies themselves and complete another portion of the cycle. Monarchs that emerge from the chrysalis in late summer (as in now) immediately enter a non-reproductive stage known as diapause that extends their lifespan up to seven months. The diapaused Monarchs make their way to overwintering areas. While overwintering hormones, heretofore held in abeyance, trigger normal reproductive function resulting in eggs which are laid in mid-February. The Monarch in Althouse's photo is likely one of these diapaused individuals.

9/7/14, 2:45 AM

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