I got my first run-in with a wasp done today. Just walking from the back door to the garage, a bit of wind picked up and saw something being blown at me that I thought was a leftover tree seed or other gardening debris. Jeans, long sleeve heavy sweatshirt and it just had to hit the few bare inches above that on my neck. At least I probably didn't get the full shot of the stinger since it was an accidental bump.

Now that I've got that part of the season over with, I can get back to yard work.

Oh noooo!! I just lost power for the 2nd time today...with a tech on the way to check my HAVAC system 😡😡

gingin said: Oh noooo!! I just lost power for the 2nd time today...with a tech on the way to check my HAVAC system 😡😡

zeta7 said: Well whut i thought wus gonna be a bumper crop of Monarch's this year just got shot to heck an back. I wus sittin in the yard talkin to my mators "yes.....i do that" an noticed a chikkin pickin the small cats off a milkweed...

@zeta7 Try wrapping your milkweed plants with chicken wire or hardware cloth.

gingin said: Oh noooo!! I just lost power for the 2nd time today...with a tech on the way to check my HAVAC system 😡😡

Generac is your friend. Our power outages last for 15 seconds.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Clear wing Moth

Carpenter Bee

The carpenter bees are really working my redbud tree, and now that my wild cherry trees are blooming, I'm seeing honeybees. They are too high up in the trees for me to get pics, though. Im just glad they're here.

I mostly leave the yellow jackets alone unless the hive is to close to the doors, a few years ago they did a great job of cleaning up the spruce bud worms on our evergreen trees, I worked as usual in the garden and never got stung. They also eat aphids, so they are mostly beneficial in the yard.

Tofi, the glow worm (larva) is really cool.
Will, thanks for the article on mosquitoes, I guess I never thought of them as pollinators, it was interesting.
Joey, I'm still picturing you in your garden weeding with motorcycle goggles and a N95 mask on.
Great pics everyone.

sunkissed said: Tofi, the glow worm (larva) is really cool.
Will, thanks for the article on mosquitoes, I guess I never thought of them as pollinators, it was interesting.
Joey, I'm still picturing you in your garden weeding with motorcycle goggles and a N95 mask on.
Great pics everyone.

LOL, happens all the time.

Something to consider. I'll try to post this on all bird-related threads.
Pausing backyard bird feeders while avian flu circulates
https://www.inforum.com/news/m...

I checked to see what's being recommended in Maryland. USDA says "Removing backyard feeders is not something the USDA specifically recommends preventing avian influenza unless you also take care of poultry." I also found a note that although wild waterfowl have tested positive for avian flu in MD, there are no reports of it in songbirds in the US. Doesn't look like our DNR has issued anything re. backyard feeders.

Can't read the article without creating an account.

Good piece on wasps as predators of common garden and orchard pests.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/0...

Well, I have tent caterpillars in my trees this year for the first time. I was going to leave them alone until I found them in the garden eating my rose leaves! That batch of them were drowned in the ditch. Guess I will be inspecting every day.

gardenfish said: Well, I have tent caterpillars in my trees this year for the first time. I was going to leave them alone until I found them in the garden eating my rose leaves! That batch of them were drowned in the ditch. Guess I will be inspecting every day.

Oh no!

When the bad bugs get bad, I like to keep a bucket of soapy water nearby. That way, I can just cut leaves that the pillers or bugs are on and drop them into the bucket. They drown quickly. And the ones that have eggs of bad things on them? I drop them in there too. When they hatch, they're gone! I empty it once every week or two...or three.

Grasshopper baby seems fond of Zinnias flower

All of those pests are somebody's dinner. But will they be found and eaten soon? That's always the unknown part.

Subarctic, great article. I tried to give it an acorn but couldn't.


Found an American Lady cat today. They can eat all the cud weed they want.

Bumble bees communal sleeping site, every dusk theese bumble bees will come together hanging on the aerial roots of tiger Boston fern. At daylight they are solitary, but when night falls they prefer company.