I haven't seen any monarchs for the last few days, because it's been pouring rain. But up until then, they've been all over the flowers across from the visitor center. I was talking to a visitor who lives in the area, and she said she's been watching the caterpillars all over the milkweed plants in her yard, and that this most recent generation is the one that will actually make it to Mexico. I had thought the ones I was seeing had flown in from Canada - and so they might have, but apparently a lot of them are just the latest generation.
I looked it up online, and it turns out that Monarchs have three or four generations each summer, but the last one is triggered by weather changes to develop differently, both in physiology and behavior - which is why they are able to make that long journey to overwinter down in Mexico. Amazing!
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