Ōtautahi / Christchurch Daily Photo

It was quite an effort to get close enough to the Monarch! Several times I would have the shot all framed up and it would flutter away, leaving me mumbling under my breath and tip toeing after it!

Monarch’s are quite common in Christchurch from Spring through to early Autumn and many people specifically add swan plants (milkweed) to their gardens to attract the butterflies – in fact it can be quite hard to get swan plants in the late summer!

I had quite a few plants myself a few years ago and got hours of entertainment watching the caterpillars grow and then trying to get a photo of them coming out of their chrysalis.