I was leading a tour of the Arboretum's Grady Tract today and a light rain fell as our small group admired flowers and grasses on our way to Greene Prairie. An eastern towhee said hello during our return walk and then we almost stepped on this monarch that was positioned sideways on a leaf in the middle of the trail. It did not fly out of the way and as I moved in for a picture, I could tell it was not going to move anymore. It's orange fading to gray, it's the end of the first generation of Wisconsin monarchs this summer. Or perhaps this butterfly hatched somewhere in Arkansas and once fully grown finished its parents' migration route and ended up here. Either way I hope it laid eggs to add to the next generation that will be flitting around later in the summer.
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