King and Queen

The King

The Last Release

The Queen

The last of our monarch's at home emerged today. The first one, our only male, emerged a few hours before the female. One's name was Slinky and one was Yellow. I was never sure which was which. When the children came home from school along with a friend, we released the female onto the milkweed plant in our butterfly garden. I had released the male earlier to make room for the other butterfly in the small container. My son was thrilled that we finally had a male! He was still on the lantana plant when we got home from carpool, but he flew away to a tree when we went outside.

I couldn't resist a few more photos. Like my Japanese maple, I can't take enough to fully capture their beauty and to satisfy my wonder.

Now, we have 4 empty chrysalises and three empty containers-- unless we are lucky enough to have some new eggs or caterpillars on our milkweed plant. Our hearts and minds, however, are full, and we are as rich as kings and queens from this miraculous experience.