![](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v735/mrilovetheants/Plants/MeadowLiatrisMonarch.jpg)
Despite falling over the Meadow Liatris, L. ligulistylis, is still getting attention. I had a Monarch Butterfly on the plant for over 2 hours. Quite a feat considering only a few of the flowers are open.
![](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v735/mrilovetheants/Plants/MeadowLiatrisMonarchThwack.jpg)
Here a bee flew to close and the Monarch thwacked it with his wing.
![](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v735/mrilovetheants/Plants/MeadowLiatrisPlentytogoAround.jpg)
If you look carefully though you can see they eventually got along. There's even a honey bee sipping at the flowers. Male Monarchs have two dark spots on the rear wings. These are special glands that attract females.
![](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v735/mrilovetheants/Plants/MeadowLiatrisMonarch2.jpg)
The beauty of this Liatris is how late it blooms. The other common Liatris I have so much of, I bought at Home Depot, actually blooms in June. This is great for bees but to early for migratory butterflies. The flowers to this Liatris are more complicated and bigger too. I think I'll focus more on these late flowering Liatris.
![](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v735/mrilovetheants/Plants/MeadowLiatrisMonarchLongView.jpg)
Only one or two of these flowers open each day. They last maybe a week then fade. What follows is almost a re-blooming but this time of furry seeds. Goldfinches enjoy these seeds as well, but as I've said before, sunflowers are the best for them.
![](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v735/mrilovetheants/Plants/Monarchcaterpillarfirstinstar.jpg)
A poorly cropped shot to give you an idea of how small a first instar (stage of larval growth) Monarch caterpillar is. It's on the seed pod to a Milkweed plant, and no bigger than the pin sized egg it hatched from.