A Visiting Monarch.......

The photo above is one of a larger than life monarch butterfly.  It is the first that I have seen this summer feeding on the zinnias. It is the only one at this time that is out there.  I have been seeing monarchs along the highways where they are feeding and flying up into traffic.

The monarch flaps it wings open to lift off of a flower so you need to be fast with a better camera than I have to catch it.  I noticed that they open really wide for about a second or two and then they flip up into the air.  The landing is open winged also but they shut close those wings immediately to start eating.