Dear Sir,

Yet again in this rain-soaked and frequently stormy year, we enjoyed a couple of days over last weekend that were rain-free and almost wind-free. On Saturday morning, Harrington Sound was like a millpond; some water-skiers carved wakes back and forth across it. But on Monday, we are back to winds of up to 25 knots and rain is forecast in coming days.

This makes water-skiing difficult, I’m sure. But more crucially, it plays havoc with the life cycles of those bringers of joy, butterflies, and in particular the large apex royals of that clan, monarch butterflies.

They need about two or three weeks of fairly settled and dry weather in which to complete their feeding and breeding cycle. In the last half of this year, they haven’t had that. Storms and high winds and rain have relentlessly hammered Bermuda in wave after successive wave, and the poor butterflies have been frequently and regularly grounded. High winds also damage the leaves of the milkweed plants, which are the sole food that their caterpillars can eat.

Like many other lovers of Danaus plexippus, I have for years cultivated milkweed and enjoyed watching the monarch caterpillars feed and the butterflies hatch from their chrysalises and fly away. But it has been several months since I have seen a monarch in my garden.

Others have reported the same thing. I am worried that they are gone for good. I am hopeful that somewhere on our island, a few have survived and, with luck, can once again spread across the fields and gardens and help raise our spirits as they do so.

RORY GORMAN

Hamilton Parish