Normally, in Calgary, a very rare Monarch butterfly might be spotted in the city - I'd only ever seen one, from far away. This summer has been different for some reason, with Monarchs travelling to Calgary and quite a bit further north in Alberta. The one in my photo is the fourth one I've seen this summer. Robin, a botany friend, and I had bumped into each other at the Zoo on July 24th and then gone our separate ways. I was busy photographing flowers in the zoo garden a bit later, when an excited Robin found me and let me know where there was a beautiful Monarch near by. It was enjoying the Scabius flowers. Thanks, Robin!

www.monarch-butterfly.com/

I found this beautiful, time-lapse video (only four and a half minutes long) on YouTube. Worth looking at if you have a few moments to spare. "It shows the entire lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly from a tiny caterpillar hatching from an egg on a Milkweed leaf through metamorphosis to become a glorious adult butterfly. Filmed utilizing high powered microscopic cameras and time-lapse photography. Produced for the Chicago Nature Museum in Chicago, IL."

youtu.be/7AUeM8MbaIk

The link below is to an article by CBC News, about the surprise appearance of Monarch butterflies in Central Alberta this summer.

www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/06/20/monarch-butte...

If you have more free time, this is a longer video by NOVA, about the amazing 2,000-mile migration of Monarchs to a sanctuary in the highlands of Mexico.

video.pbs.org/video/1063682334