Another lovely monarch female released

We released another monarch female two days ago.

She eclosed around 8.30 am but wasn't ready to be released until after 2 pm.

Sometimes newly emerged monarchs are moving around in their "nursery" mesh cages within two or three hours, flexing their wings, ready to go.

And then there are some like this female who need more time.

We like to wait at least until the new butterflies have moved from their clear chrysalis shell, from which they hang after they emerge, and start to flex their wings. That seems to be the sure sign that they feel strong and ready to fly.

Once we took the mesh cage outdoors, with this butterfly in it, she started to fly around in the cage. And it only took a few minutes until she flew from Tony's hand, high into the air, and landed nearby on our neighbor's tree.

Here she rested for a couple of minutes, soaking in the sunshine, then flew to a shrub in our neighbor's backyard.