MONARCH BUTTERFLY SEEN AT RESTON FARMER'S MARKET

I was delighted to see a Monarch butterfly among the Johnny Jump-ups. Not the greatest shot but it is my first photo of one in 2026. I have seen a rare sighting but didn't have an opportunity for a photo, and wondered if this was because of a decline in there numbers or was it because I have cut my trips down to the gardens this year? They have a lot of challenges to contend with in their short lives and didn’t expect to see any this late. It had tattered wings - some close calls from birds perhaps, or was it general wear and tear? A stalwart little one for sure.

I am always curious about what I see and take photos of. I more often than not go online for a refresher of what I forget. Then as time goes on, I come back here for another refresher. This is what I learned online about our tattered little stalwart. 

“Monarch populations are in a multi-decade decline, down more than 80% since the 1990s. Fairfax County parks - like Hidden Oaks Nature Center - have openly warned that wild monarchs are increasingly difficult to spot during their annual late summer programs. 

Despite overall scarcity, the over wintering eastern monarch population actually saw a substantial 64% increase during the recent counts. Millions of butterflies migrated south along the East Coast this Fall.

You likely missed the peak waves. In Northern Virginia, the main migration midpoint occurs between late August and late September. By late October, the vast majority have already moved through, leaving only a few stragglers 

Finding a late October monarch butterfly in Fairfax County with heavily tattered wings is a beautiful yet poignant milestone - and both historical population declines and seasonal timing explains why you haven’t seen them until now.

The butterfly you photographed belongs to a legendary, biologically distinct generation known to scientists as the “Megalus” or “Super Generation.” Unlike summer monarchs - which rush through reproduction and die in just 2 to 6 weeks - this specific butterfly was born with its reproductive organs entirely paused (in a state called reproductive dispause). Instead of spending energy finding a mate, its sole evolutionary mandate is to fly thousands of miles to the oyamel fir forests in central Mexico.

By late October, this traveler had likely been on the wing for several weeks, flying up to 80 miles a day. Its faded, tattered wings are badges of honor. They represent narrow escapes from birds, rough flights through autumn cold fronts, and hundreds of miles of friction against wind and foliage. Remarkably, a monarch can still fly, navigate and feed successfully even if it loses up to 70% of its wing surface area. Its wings will never heal or grow back, but its determination remains unbroken. 

Because it is part of the long-lived Super Generation, this butterfly has a natural lifespan of 6 to 9 months. The regular Summer Generation of Monarch butterflies have a much shorter lifespan of only 2 to 6 weeks. 

The generations born in the spring and summer have completely different biological purpose than the migratory generations born you photographed. Instead of flying to Mexico, their sole job is to breed and expand the population northward. They hatch, reach maturity, find a mate, lay eggs on milkweed and die shortly after. This quick cycle repeats 3 to 4 times between May and August as the butterflies march across North America. Because they spend massive amounts of energy developing their reproductive systems and constantly mating, their bodies wear out rapidly compared to the winter generation, whose reproductive systems are entirely paused during their journey. However, its immediate survival depends entirely on the upcoming weather. If it can continue riding the remaining autumn wind currents south before a hard Northern Virginia freeze sets in, it has the biological capacity to live into the spring of next year. Once it safely reaches Mexico, it will spend the winter resting in a colony before waking up in March to mate, fly north into the southern United States, lay the eggs of the next generation, and finally complete its life cycle. If it remains stuck too far north as the winter sets in, its journey will cut short, making your photograph a precious record of its final, heroic stand against the elements.

While milkweed is famous for feeding monarch caterpillars in the summer, fall stragglers need rich, heavy-blooming, frost resistant nectar sources to survive cold autumn nights. To provide the high calorie nectar fuel that late-season traveling monarchs desperately need in late October, these specific perennials best choice for a Northern Virginia garden is Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens), New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-Anglian) or Blue Mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum).. These would also do well in deep containers and bloom exceptionally late in October. They also love the open sun exposure a deck provides.”

Thanks for looking and happy Thursday!