It’s nearing the end of June and I still haven’t found any monarch caterpillars in our yard, even though there are at least 115 common milkweed plants. Last year, I found the first two monarch caterpillars on June 17, so we are at least a week behind.

Meanwhile, plenty of other creatures are enjoying the milkweed leaves and flowers.

Butterfly, which I think is a summer azure:

Asian lady beetle:

An interesting long spider set up shop above a milkweed leaf:

The blossoms sometimes trap insects, like this fly, which had three stuck legs:

This honeybee was also trapped, though it was able to free itself:

Bumblebee:

A small bee (possibly halictus) flying in.

A longhorn beetle, which I suspect is a newly hatched red milkweed beetle:

I also noticed a lacewing and a red admiral butterfly but they flew off before I could get photos. Monarchs and caterpillars have been spotted in the Twin Cities, so it’s just a matter of time.