How well do winter-eclosing monarch butterflies (Danaus
plexippus) fare in southern California? Three days ago I was
observing the abundance of caterpillars, which will inevitably
become pupae, then eclosing butterflies. By the way, winter
maturation of monarch caterpillars is common here; I see lots of
them each winter. I found one recently emerged adult the day I
posted on the caterpillars. The weather that day was cool,
breezy and partly sunny. By late afternoon, this butterfly was
lying in the garden path. I blew some hot air on it and it began
to move in my cupped hand. So I brought it inside for the night
to see if it would take flight the next day. It didn't. You can
see the wings have hardened in a slightly crinkled state,
probably not likely to sustain flight. I had offered the
butterfly sliced orange as a food source but couldn't confirm if
it had taken any. The next day turned out to be rainy; while the
rumpled butterfly hung on a twig in its wine box on the back
porch, I found another monarch very