Tonight while watering the gardens I spotted two monarch butterflies attached to one another fluttering about the garden.

It just goes to show that if you slow down enough you can watch the cycle of a butterfly in action.

The male, after successfully courting the female, will meet the top of the female’s reproductive opening by bending the tip of his abdomen and grabbing firmly with its claspers. This is done in opposite directions, and if disturbed the female will fly upside down while attached to the male. According to “Florida Butterfly Gardening” this can go on for hours as the male passes on its sperm.