Congrats, it's a male!

It is addicting! It such a joy to know their chances of survival are greater if we give them a helping hand.

Congratulations, Tina Marie! He is beautiful.

~Laura

Congrats, congrats, Tine Marie!
Those look like scent glands on the stripe - he's a beautiful boy!
Sherry

Wow that was so exciting! Hehe That beautiful boy stuck around for awhile on the tomato plant I had hanging on my deck in a topsy turvy. I didn't place him out further in the yard, was scared he'd get killed by something before he had a chance.

By the time he was ready to fly away, my middle child (17) came over to visit and he got to see the butterfly too. When I reached out to stick a finger under him, the monarch decided it was time to fly away. So, he's off and flying! So thrilling to know he's out there somewhere. :)

Sherry, What 'stripe' do you mean? I've several images on photobucket, I'll link another image if you want I've several of them. Not all are very clear ones.

~Tina Marie

Can you see the little round areas in the vertical lines close to the body of these two male monarchs, Tina Marie? Those are the scent glands, and they're easier to see top side. Females don't have the scent glands, and they also have thicker lines than the males. It's hard to tell line thickness, though, unless you see a male and a female side by side.
{{gwi:482010}}
Sherry

Ah! I see! Thank you Sherry! :) I would never have known that. Haha! So awesome to have people like you around so willing to help. I appreciate that very much.

~Tina Marie