Milkweed is going to seed in the West

I walked a trail lined with milkweed and shadowed by monarchs.

Down by the Truckee River just East of Reno NV is a great area for walking. It is an unimproved dirt path on the banks of the river. On the high side is desert plants like sagebrush. Between the trail and the water is great diversity including Mexican whorled milkweed, Showy milkweed and other pollinating plants. 

Monarch Caterpillar

There were four monarchs on this early August walk. There was also one monarch caterpillar. In mid July I was seeing no more that one to two monarch and no caterpillars. So it is very nice to see them doubling. The doubling is a trend. I saw increased monarch numbers in two other locations that I visit. 

Showy milkweed seed pod

I have high hopes that this trend is happening all over the West. I would like to see the monarchs return to their overwintering sites in California in the hundreds of thousands. That may be a few years away, but I'm doing my part.