I remember your first photos too Mel, he really is a looker with all those colors going on. It would be nice to have him as a common species.

The spiders went a little nuts while I was away and built webs all over the garden. I kept yelling, "I have to walk through here, guys!". I always heard hummingbirds used spider webs to build their nests, but I guess that season is over because the spiders seem safe. The feeder is only a few feet away from all that Salvia.

Is that spider an immature Black Widow Mellie? or what?
Sally G- I have NEVER EVER seen a live Black Widow in the wild. Only saw one once at the Smithsonian I'm tempted to order eggs from that adoption website




BB with pollen overload on its hairs from the sunflowesr. Sorry about the poor quality of pics and typos lately. Rushing around a lot with too much on my plate this weekend.

Some kinda stink bug or something, so common, but I liked the stripey legs.

A couple of mini frogs inside the filter of our koi pond





The second one seems to have a hole in its knee.

Mellie, I think your spider is native to Fla. It is an Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge venusta).

Here are some great pictures of the "locals"

http://www.pbase.com/dydmd/spi...

Yes Cheryl, you have black widow spiders in Pennsylvania. Their bite is very painful.

http://lesson.website/pennsylv...

Your other bug looks like it may be a nymph of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys)

http://cholmesphoto.photoshelt...

It would be easy to miss black widows. They have very small, messy, webs of very strong silk, close to the ground, or concealed, and seem to like hot places. We had a piece of black metal near the front door where we got several. One time the black widow was right over a yellow jacket nest hole. She was allowed to stay.

Cute frog. My frog is still in the plant near the door, fourth day, last night she ventured onto the door after dark, getting closer to the porch light bugs.

Bee but -> Air borne ->


Bumble -

Thanks, Jean! I bookmarked that page. You certainly identified my spider. I have a "live and let live" attititude about most of my garden. Exceptions include invasive species.

This is the best I can do with an iphone...

I love the little frogs, Mika. I was trying to figure out who they were, but as yet not sure. The tree frogs have rather fragile skin when they are young.

You are most welcome, Mellie. That is a pretty site, good clear pics. Thanks for the acorn, also.

Nice pics J and Robin.

Some kind of green flyer -


Mantis -


exoskeleton -

How many Mantis does Jmorth have...a colony? J, you are a Mantis Whisperer, or the Mantis King or something. Wow!

Robin, your pictures are very nice.
We are lucky to find one mantis each summer. DH likes to feed them crickets.

RobinSeeds said:How many Mantis does Jmorth have...a colony? J, you are a Mantis Whisperer, or the Mantis King or something. Wow!

haha I loved the little thing that kept in the same place for days. I have a loads of them here too. Some are native and some are not. The Chinese are escapees from people having them as pets mid-century. I haven't found any of them to be a big problem though unless it eats one of the hummers! Here's a nice that shows the difference between the types of mantises with clear photos from Maryland:

http://wildmaryland101.blogspo...

J Morth's little green bee could be one of these or even a cuckoo, can't see its abdomen from the picture. They love the Basil flowers and the pink catmint "Sweet Dreams" here the most.

http://energy.wisc.edu/bee-gui...

@ [quote="Moonhowl"]

Thanks for all your research and the links Jean! I was so tired when I first read about the stink bug for a split second I thought it said: "Marmaladed" huh?

jmorth said:Bee but -> Air borne ->


Bumble -

J, the bee in the top two photos is a Wool Carder bee. They're quadrupled in population around here! It's a lot of fun to watch their antics. The male guards territory and bops BBs and other non-Wool carder pollinators with spikes on his body. The female goes looking for fuzz to chew off of plants like Lamb's Eras to line her nest. I saw a male grab a female yesterday and it was no sweet encounter!!
How do you like growing Obedient plant? I don't have any here. Be easy on your body though if it's too hard to type anything -don't worry man

cliftoncat said:A couple of mini frogs inside the filter of our koi pond





The second one seems to have a hole in its knee.

Miki- I hope the 2nd one will be ok. At least it appeards healthy and doesnt have Frankenstein parts. I've found frogs in places that have multiple legs. Creepy- probably pesticides. Frogs are so easily affected and indicate the quality of the environment.Your little guys are so precious! I love the metallic gold or coppery colored eye! I really need a bigger pond here

RobinSeeds said:This is the best I can do with an iphone...

Hey Robin- I use my iPhone too-Look at it this way, at least they have wings in these shots! your bee balm is still in 1st flowering!?

wildflowers said:More fantastic photos, Cheryl. I never get tired of seeing bugs up close! Did you check out the hooked toes on the Cicada killer?

There is a white covered sawfly larva called a Butternut Woolly Worm.
https://www.google.com/search?...

I've seen them before


These creatures look like the remnant shag carpet samples!

Argiope aurantia
(Black and Yellow Garden Spider)
Mature females are enormous, their bold black-and-yellow pattern adding to their intimidating appearance. Common in gardens, orchards, forest edges, old fields, and farms, they spin a classic round orb web which is usually decorated with a bold, zigzag band of silk called a stabilimentum

I went deeper into that link that Jean(Thank you!) gave us about spiders. While taking the photos, I was really curious as to why the sewed zigzig was inside the web. Turns out that thing has a name: stabilimentum-- Googled it for more info. Some of you else may find this interesting

http://www.bugsinthenews.com/s...