June 2nd in St. Louis. as I was weeding the gardens, I found two newly emerged Monarchs. The first eggs I saw this year were around April 21st. Doing the math, it turns out that these Monarchs took six weeks to go from egg to Monarch butterfly. The extra long time period probably has to do with the cooler temperatures and extra spring rain.
If you are weeding in the garden, take some time and see if you can notice these newly emerged Monarchs.
This also emphasizes the importance of having early spring milkweed. My favorite is Ascelpias incarnata – Swamp Milkweed.
Note – June 6th – Monarch is flying around the garden. I’m not sure if it is MY monarch, but it’s nice to see.
Butterfly Gardening 