The Multitudes

When I was heading home after today's meeting in Nelson I realised that it would be nearly dark before I got here.  So I stopped off at one of my favourite haunts in the hope of catching monarchs.

I had thought I might be a bit early to see them in any numbers, as they're out and about during the warmth of the day.  But I was fortunate that they were just starting to cluster when I arrived. I only had to wait 10 minutes for this mass to form.  They were fluttering in from all directions and quickly grouping up to share their warmth and therefore survive the overnight cold.  They'll need to share that community spirit too, because it's likely to be  good hard frost there in the morning.