Such a great time of the year when the garden is full of bees and butterflies and flowers are in full bloom. I refuse to think of how soon, the leaves will begin to fall, the flowers fade and the insects die or leave. In the meantime enjoy the beauty of summer!
Tag: insects
Well, Hello There…
As I was cutting flowers, I ran across this big fellow. A quick internet search revealed it is a common garden spider called the Black and Yellow Argiope ( Argiope aurantia). They catch large insects such as grasshoppers and butterflies in their web. I decided I could pass on this flower and leave Mr. Spider…
Hummingbird Moths this Summer
The hummingbird moths were plentiful this summer, although they are disappearing now that the cooler weather is approaching. Here is one visiting a day lily that was actually still for a few moments.
Tiger Swallowtail – Male and Female
The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly(Papilio glaucus) is one of the most common and easily identified butterflies. With the bright yellow color and distinctive stripes, it even has an easy-to-remember name. This is also a butterfly where it is easy to determine the male and female. The female has a row of blue on the open…
Sachem (Skipper)
Two Sachem Skipper butterflies (Atalopedes campestris) on Lantana blossoms. The greenish Sachem is the male. I believe the other Skipper is the female but did not get a clear identification. For anyone interested in butterfly identification, the Gardens with Wings site is very helpful in figuring out the correct name of the butterfly. You can search…
Question Mark
Another butterfly taking advantage of the butterfly bush — the Question Mark butterfly seen earlier this summer.
Skipper
Silver-spotted Skipper, a very common small brown butterfly, stopping by the butterfly bush. More information about the silver-spotted skipper can be found at this link.
First Monarch
The Monarch butterflies are beginning to emerge. This is the first one I have seen this summer but I look forward to more butterflies stopping by in August.
Spice Bush Swallowtail
Spice Bush Swallowtail stopping by the butterfly bush.
Shades of Hydrangea
I came to a new appreciation of hydrangeas when my daughter-in-law used them for her wedding. When we did some landscaping several years ago, we planted several hydrangeas and now we enjoy the beautiful shades of the blooms throughout the summer season. Until I looked at the photos on the computer, I did not realize…
Nature and Life Notes 