This beautiful monarch was nectaring on the viper's bugloss plant, a common (non-native) trailside flower. Unfortunately, the powers that be, that is the City of Ottawa, seem to want to mow the sides of nature trails and they have just done so this morning, cutting down hundreds of milkweed plants which the Monarch butterfly lays its eggs on, and all the flowers that they nectar on (as do many other butterflies). These flowers in the photo, are just waiting to be mowed to nothing. Why anyone would want to mow 4 foot to 20 foot swathes of a nature trail is beyond me.

As well, the monarch is listed both provincially and federally, as a species of special concern because of dwindling numbers and problems on their overwintering ground.