Panning through our Media Library of images (those that stayed while the other 45,000 or so were culled), I stopped several times, to reminisce. Those of you who have been traveling with us for years now, remember this one.

You who joined our adventures more recently, quickly know that it’s a Danaus. But which one, where?

We stopped here, mostly because last week I saw no fewer than several thousand milkweed Danaus butterflies in the Rio Grand Valley, in Mission, Texas. The numbers were staggering. Thousands of Queens, dozens of Soldiers and a handful of Monarchs. It was extraordinary, seeing big beautiful Danaus, 3 species no less, in the last week of December. The boy from Brooklyn was blown away by the thought! butterflies at Christmas time, and in huge numbers.

This one seen here is the Plain Tiger butterfly, in Mishmarot, Israel. Probably also seen in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, but that I will never be able to personally confirm. Nor do I wish to see you travel there, for the risks are as real as the risks were back when I was a kid.

What can you say when you admire a fresh Danaus?

Jeff