Danaus plexippus – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

My First of Year Monarch Butterfly Sighting

By Mia McPherson|2021-05-23T09:09:27-05:00June 18th, 2020|Categories: Box Elder County, Monarch Butterflies, Shrubs, Trees, Utah|Tags: adult, butterflies, butterfly, Celtis reticulata, Danaus plexippus, desert, male, Monarch Butterfly, Netleaf Hackberry|

I'm always happy to photograph "other things with wings" when I am out in the field so last week when I spotted my first of year Monarch butterfly I had to take a few photos of it.

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Monarch Butterflies and Rocky Mountain Bee Plants in Northern Utah

By Mia McPherson|2022-10-08T10:05:36-05:00August 5th, 2018|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Monarch Butterflies, Utah, Wildflowers|Tags: butterflies, butterfly, Cleomella serrulata, Danaus plexippus, declining populations, early morning light, Monarch, Monarch Butterfly, nectaring, pink wildflowers, resting, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, wildflowers|

Last year I found plenty of Monarch Butterflies on the Rocky Mountain Bee Plants on Antelope Island and they were a delight to photograph as they fluttered around going from flower to flower sipping nectar from the delicate blossoms.

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Rocky Mountain Bee Plant & Monarch Butterfly In Flight

By Mia McPherson|2022-10-08T10:05:58-05:00August 23rd, 2017|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Monarch Butterflies, Utah|Tags: butterflies, butterfly, Cleomella serrulata, Danaus plexippus, flight, landing, Monarch Butterfly, nectar, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, wildflower, wildflowers|

Photographing birds while they are flying can be challenging and photographing Monarch Butterflies in flight can be just as challenging to do too.

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Black-chinned & Rufous Hummingbirds, White-lined Sphinx Moths and Monarch Butterflies

By Mia McPherson|2022-10-08T10:15:05-05:00August 18th, 2017|Categories: Antelope Island State Park, Birds, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Davis County, Monarch Butterflies, Rufous Hummingbirds, Utah, White-lined Sphinx Moths|Tags: Archilochus alexandri, Black-chinned Hummingbird, butterflies, butterfly, Cleomella serrulata, Danaus plexippus, desert, feeding, flight, hovering, hummingbird, hummingbirds, Hyles lineata, island, Monarch Butterfly, moth, moths, nectaring, perched, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, sphinx moth, summer, White-lined Sphinx Moth|

Rocky Mountain Bee Plants are blooming all over the Salt Lake Valley right now and those beautiful, spider-like flowers are attracting hummingbirds, moths, butterflies, bees and a host of insects.

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