oooh ahhhh!
I'll pic favorites

evermorelawnless said:

GrammaChar said:

Outstanding


so sorry to hear 'bout the killed bees--
and so glad to see 'ours' abound! Thanks Asa for posting some great ones (I'm missing my gardens and beefriends so much these days it's really nice to see a few glimpses now and then)

I will "ooh" and "aah" along with Dirt! Gorgeous photos today! You know my dislike of grasshoppers, but I think I would let Char's go. I just don't want to look at them too close. Then they start freaking me out.

And Jack - I need sunglasses to look at your post! No wonder you've got all the pollinators - it's like a giant neon sign hanging in your yard. I also love to see bees coming out of flowers just covered in pollen. So cute! And you've got tons of variety at your place. Pollinator's paradise!

Thanks for the acorn Mellie!

Acrobatic bee





with funny feet.

Great photos, but it looks like a fly Char

Oh my, Char, that is such a cute bee with funny feet! Or is it a fly?

Melanie, sorry about no warning for the skippers being captured. It was not a pleasant sight. I did make sure not to post them on the butterfly thread!

There always seems to be more predatory insects at this time of year!

Well, just like a lot of us are seeing many butterflies this time of year, everything else has been breeding all through the warm months. Nature has to keep the balance. But I still try to get the best of her when I can!

FYI, I think those feet are just fine. How do you think he can hang upside down so well?

A bit of rain overnight and morning clouds gave way to afternoon sunshine, but no early critter activity. I started to install an Sunset Orange mum given to me by a neighbor, when two small bees (one of which was carrying a lot of pollen) began working the Russian Sage. Got a few shots, and then one of my plain vanilla butterflies flitted around for several minutes, but wouldn't pose. Spotted a large night crawler, but it quickly went out of sight.

More work on the mum when a couple of carpenter bees arrived at the sage. They posed for a few shots and then took off for parts unknown.


Finished up with the mum and then headed inside to checkout the images.

You're not kidding about that load of pollen! And since I'm all about educating, your "plain vanilla" butterfly is a Cabbage White. They were introduced from Europe and are considered invasive by some. They out-compete some of the native Whites by emerging first in the spring and eating all the good host plants. This has led to declines in populations of other White butterflies such as the West Virginia White.

Oh no! It's not bad enough that my butterfly is plain vanilla, but now I find out that it is an invader. Plus, it's an assassin! Can it get any worse?

It looked so innocent.

And they eat cabbages! You might have picked that up from the name, though. So farmers hate them, but for different reasons. It's actually one of the few invasive species that we know exactly when and how they arrived in the U.S. Here's a quote: "For example, the Small Cabbage White rapidly spread across the United States after first being introduced to North America around Quebec City from Europe on cabbages brought over by immigrants in 1860 and again around New York, NY in 1868. By 1886, the species occupied nearly all of the US and southern Canada east of the Rocky Mountains, and covered practically the entire continent as soon as 1901. The rapid western spread in both the northern US and southern Canada was also likely assisted by the transport of cabbages and other related crop species via train lines. Their dispersal ability, host plant generality, and use of domesticated crop species have helped facilitate their spread and continued success in new habitat ranges."

For the full article, you can read here: http://www.biodiverseperspecti...

I've heard these things called Daddy-Long-Legs and Mosquito Killers, but I have to admit, I'm not really sure what they are. All I know is that they like to sit on the front door and jump up and down. This one, unfortunately, is on the inside of the front door. The only insects allowed in the house are caterpillars so this one got squished. But not before I took a picture!

Plain lemon

I think it might be the 'Queen Alexandra's Sulphur' Colias alexandra

We don't have very many cabbage whites out here; it's still fun to see a few every once in a while--they never hold still though

No clue what this little itty bitty one was ? some kinda 'hairstreak' type?

it was about the size of a dime, kind of a mauvy, brownish-blueish backside--see just a hint thru the torn off wing-part

--
Christine, I meant to say a long time ago, what a dang plump spider you have there oh my!

wildflowers said:Soooo ~ I've been a bit disappointed in the flowering Bidens. I thought it would be attracting much more insects but I never see anything buzzing around it. So, yesterday I went to take a closer look to see what I could see. Boy was I in for a shock! As soon as I got close, I could see a couple of skippers but they weren't moving.

Apparently, Big fat crab spider has been eating good!!


Tried to get a closer look at the interesting ambush bug. Looks like I need to try again.


I did see another tiny pollen bug. A mosquito.



Hey hey Christine. great pics! I WANT some Bidens for my region! Please share more Ambush bug pics, I've never seen one around here. Your last picture is not a mosquito, it's a long-legged fly. See his iridescent wings, big head, and relatively str8 legs?
Here's a mosquito for comparison:

GrammaChar said:

Not sure this is a bee. ???

<-- Some kinda fly Char, give me a bit to look him up ok?

@dirtdorphins Your little one looks like a Summer Azure though I don't know if you have Azures out there,

I have sneaked up closer to my stingless bees so to photograph them. They run off with the pollen of my daylilies very quickly. I have to get out of bed really early! This is an unexpected urgency of owning a hive.

They really are tiny, so very tiny.

3 B >


BB >


Familiar in and out behavior of Carden Bee >











2 B here; if they go into the same flower a tangled mess unfolds as both fall to the ground


Hopper > and Fly >

mellielong said:I've heard these things called Daddy-Long-Legs and Mosquito Killers, but I have to admit, I'm not really sure what they are. All I know is that they like to sit on the front door and jump up and down. This one, unfortunately, is on the inside of the front door. The only insects allowed in the house are caterpillars so this one got squished. But not before I took a picture!

<-- I think it's just a Crane Fly Mellie
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu...