26-AUG-2013
Raspberry crown borer moth (Pennisetia marginata), #2513
At first I thought I was looking at a yellowjacket, but quickly realized the body was too thick and too long. It was, in fact, a raspberry crown borer moth, a new addition for the FWG moth list. I managed to get a shot of this extraordinary moth as it hid between two goldenrod leaves in the old field. It is closely associated with wild raspberries (of which there are many in the old field), and wild blackberries. This moth is in the Sesiidae family, the Clearwing Moths.
26-AUG-2013
Golden tortoise beetle
28-AUG-2013
Woolly Bear Caterpillar (Pyrrharctia isabella)
A rather unusually coloured woolly bear, with more brown than black. Photographed by Diane.
28-AUG-2013
Volunteer weeding the butterfly meadow
Wednesday, late afternoon into the evening, is the time for volunteers to gather at the butterfly meadow in the Fletcher Wildlife Garden, and help Diane with weeding, planting, mulching, and any number of other chores.
28-AUG-2013
Another volunteer helping weed the butterfly meadow
More hands make lighter work and there is always work to be done in the butterfly meadow at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden.
28-AUG-2013
Volunteers helping to weed the butterfly meadow
Diane took this and the other photos of volunteers helping out in the butterfly meadow of the Fletcher Wldlife Garden. She is the habitat manager for the meadow and has created a large, flower-filled site with the help of many hands.
28-AUG-2013
Planting in the butterfly meadow
Here a volunteer is helping to plant more wildflowers attractive to butterflies and other insects.
26-AUG-2013
Wild raspberry (Rubus idaeus)
Turning colour, these raspberries in the old field are attractive to moths such as the one in the previous photo.
26-AUG-2013
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
One of only a handful of monarchs seen at the FWG this year. Numbers are down drastically, but let's hope this is only a blip, and that next year will see a rebound.
26-AUG-2013
Bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii)
These gentians have prospered in the Backyard Garden for some years. Another name for them is closed gentian, and it is easy to see why. I have seen insects pushing apart the petals to enter these flowers, however.
26-AUG-2013
Treehoppers, adults and nymphs (Publilia concava)
Goldenrods and Publilia treehoppers go together. This is a fresh generation appearing now, and as with all Publilia treehoppers, these were attracting ants who enjoy the 'honeydew' secreted by the bugs, in return for which they will protect the treehoppers. Just try going near a leaf with these guys on and see how quickly the ants will converge to try and drive you off.
26-AUG-2013
Late summer colours
Goldenrods and asters are the colours of late summer, the gorgeous golds and blues that blend so well together. Nature really knows how to coordinate colours!
26-AUG-2013
Black blister beetle (Epicautus pensylvanica)
These medium-sized blister beetles are fairly common on goldenrods at this time of year. As they also like asters, they are sometimes called aster blister beetles. That yellow liquid emerging from the top one may be the the chemical they can emit to protect themselves, and from which they get the collective common name of blister beetles.
26-AUG-2013
Black blister beetle (Epicautus pensylvanica)
Another shot of one of the blister beetles.
21-AUG-2013
Eastern-tailed Blue (Everes comyntas)
Diane photographed this butterfly in the butterfly meadow, one of only a few we've seen this year. They are often quite common at FWG, but this year they, like so many butterfly species, are scarce.
19-AUG-2013
Stewardship ranger
One of the rangers helping out at the FWG.
19-AUG-2013
Stewardship rangers helping FWG volunteers
Removing tree stumps from a site near the butterfly meadow, to allow new trees to be planted.
19-AUG-2013
Stewardship rangers helping FWG volunteers
Working near the butterfly meadow to remove the stumps of a few long dread trees which were removed to make way for new trees. We have many more standing dead trees to provide insects and nest sites.
14-AUG-2013
Green Lacewing larva (Chrysoperla)
Diane and I found this lovely lacewing larva, and Diane got a perfect shot showing the quite powerful mouth parts which make this insect such a good predator of aphids. Sometimes called aphid lions, because of their great ability to stalk and catch aphids.
14-AUG-2013
Mating Cabbage whites (Pieeris rapae)
This is an introduce species from Europe, commonly found both here and there. As the name suggests, its larval host plants are mustards.
14-AUG-2013
Common ringlet (Coenonympha tullia)
The second generation of this species has appeared recently and can be found flying around the old field area and other open areas.
14-AUG-2013
Wild cucumber flowers (Echinocystis lobata)
This is a native, twining vine that produces large spined pods that open at the bottom and from which the seeds are dropped. Being somewhat cucumber-like, the pods gave rise to the common name. The old field habitat has a great display of these creamy flowers right now.
15-AUG-2013
Great Lobelia (Lobelia syphilitica)
Beautiful stand of Great Lobelia in the Butterfly Meadow at its best right now. This plant is worth checking for a variety of insects which will nectar on it.
15-AUG-2013
Pennsylvania leatherwing beetles (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus)
These very familiar soldier beetles begin to appear in about mid-July becoming more numerous as summer progresses. They can be found on just about any flowering plant, though they particularly like queen anne's lace and goldenrods. France took this photo of them on tansy, a non-native but attractive-to-insects, plant that has naturalized in our region.
15-AUG-2013
Paper wasp (Polistes dominulus)
France took this pretty photo of the introduced european paper wasp on a purple coneflower.
15-AUG-2013
Bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculate)
Bald-faced hornet on swamp milkweed in the Butterfly Meadow, taken by France. These are the wasps that build the familiar big paper nest often seen hanging from trees and shrubs. Although called hornets, they are paper wasps in the subfamily Vespinae, the social wasps.
15-AUG-2013
Eastern Kingbird
These birds have been conspicuous around the garden lately and France managed to get a photo of one sitting still.
15-AUG-2013
Baltimore oriole, juvenile
The elderberry is a magnet for birds with its juicy black fruit, including this juvenile baltimore oriole photographed by France.
15-AUG-2013
Gray catbird
France caught this perky pose as the catbird perched on the edge of a compost bin near the Backyard Garden. We;ve had several pairs nesting in the garden this year and they have been one of the most vocal and visible of birds all season.
15-AUG-2013
Poppies in the Backyard Garden
15-AUG-2013
White-faced meadowhawk (Sympetrum obtrusum)
One of THE most abundant small odonates in the region, and common too at the FWG. In some areas, clouds of them fly up as you walk along, making for quite a sight.
15-AUG-2013
Giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)
A beautiful shot by France of the once very rare giant swallowtail. The first record for the garden came last year when Barry found and photographed one. Last year, in fact was the first time that this species appeared in such numbers in this area. And they continue to be found here, with the second generation flying now and being seen all over the city.
15-AUG-2013
Giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)
Another shot of this very intriguing butterfly.
15-AUG-2013
American Goldfinch
enjoying the birdbath in the Backyard Garden
15-AUG-2013
Chipping sparrow
in birdbath in the Backyard Garden. This is another common breeding species at the garden. They usually have a couple of broods each summer, as they arrive fairly early in spring, giving them time to successfully fledge their first brood and begin work on the second.
15-AUG-2013
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Female hummingbird perched near Joe-Pye weed in the Backyard Garden. It is not often you get to see these busy birds sitting still, but France was able to get a nice photo of this cooperative one. Now that nesting season is over for them, hummingbirds are being seen in increasing numbers. The other day, there were two in the BYG, chasing each other away from the cardinal flowers.
15-AUG-2013
Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
also called Spotted touch-me-not, a favourite of hummingbirds and bumblebees. A native plant of damp areas and wetland edges.
15-AUG-2013
Great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele) on joe-pye weed
nectaring on Joe-Pye weed. The largest fritillary in our area, and probably the most commonly seen, easily separated from the other two large Speyeria species.
15-AUG-2013
Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Diane has planted a mass of these in the model monarch waystation at the Butterfly Meadow and they are alive with bumble bees, honey bees, hummingbird moths and a variety of other insects. France took this pretty shot.
14-AUG-2013
Smartweed (Polygonum sp.)
This is a tall, showy plant with large drooping clusters of pale pink flowers. It is probably Polygonum lapathifolium, a native species. We have not seen this at FWG before, but it has appeared near the butterfly meadow this year, and is a new species for our list.
Or it would have been, except someone seems to have destroyed the plant, or else picked it to take home. The plant itself was very tall and very noticeable.
14-AUG-2013
Planthopper nymph
Diane took these two photos of a peculiarly shaped little bug nymph. I took a much more inferior photo, but it had enough detail that I sent it to Bug Guide for help with ID. They said it was a planthopper nymph, but didn't say which species. I am leaning towards Acanalonia, as the nymphs of the very common Metcalfa pruinosa are completely different, and this has somewhat the shape of the Acanolonia planthopper.
14-AUG-2013
Cedar waxwing on tartarian honeysuckle
This guy was feeding on the fruit of a tartarian honeysuckle, with much gusto. I think waxwings are such sleekly beautiful birds, with their little red 'wax'tips and dove gray back.
14-AUG-2013
Treehopper (Acutalis tartarea)
One of the tiniest of treehoppers, this is a difficult to photograph species because of its size and its habit of quickly moving away either by running around the stem of a plant or hopping to another one. It is, however, quite common at the garden, and early August, or late July, is when I usually begin seeing them in good numbers.
14-AUG-2013
Grasshopper nymph
Diane and I saw this very striking, large, grasshopper nymph at FWG this afternoon. At present, we're not sure what species it is.
14-AUG-2013
Digger wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus)
Along with the great black digger wasp (S. pensylvanicus), this is also common in mid to late summer, nectaring on flowers, here on a swamp milkweed in the BYG.
14-AUG-2013
Leaf beetles (Microrhopala excavata)
Two flat-bodied and tiny beetles, with a pitted elytra (in fact, "excavata" is Latin for pitted). They are distinctive in shape but sometimes difficult to find, only because they are so small and often tuck themselves into small spaces on plants. They are in the same subfamily (now) as tortoise beetles.
14-AUG-2013
Dogwood spittlebug (Clastoptera proteus)
This tiny spittlebug was on goldenrod in the Butterfly Meadow. I find these insects very handsome and boldly patterned.
14-AUG-2013
Hummingbird moth (Hemaris thysbe) on monarda
There is a huge swathe of Monarda fistulosa, the native bee balm, in the butterfly meadow, and today it was alive with bumble bees busily gathering pollen, and this moth as well as a very tattered silver-spotted skipper, both nectaring.
10-AUG-2013
Crab spider (Mecaphesa sp.)
A vivid shot by Diane of a tiny crab spider, a species that varies a lot in colour and pattern.
10-AUG-2013
Joe-pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum)
A lovely shot of a common native species. The Genus name has change from the familiar Eupatorium to Eutrochium, and you will find this species listed under both. It is a tall, showy plant of wetland sites, but does well in gardens too, and is very attractive to butterflies, bees and other insects. Diane photographed this in the Butterfly Meadow at FWG.
10-AUG-2013
Lobelia and Black-eyed Susan
A pretty scene from the Butterfly Meadow planted by Diane and her volunteers over the years, and photogaphed by Diane.
10-AUG-2013
Dense blazing star (Liatris spicata)
A great array of this very attractive plant, which is also very attractive to many insects, the reason Diane planted it in the Butterfly Meadow, where she photographed this.
10-AUG-2013
Swamp milkweed and Bee-balm
A beautiful view across a very showy section of the Butterfly Meadow, photographed by Diane. As you can imagine, these plants attract many bees and butterflies.
10-AUG-2013
Highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobusm)
The viburnum at the Butterfly Meadow is in fruit now. We are not sure if this is the native species or a cultivar, but likely the latter, as the fruit usually remains on the shrub all winter, so it is not attractive to birds.
10-AUG-2013
Silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus
Diane said that she was very happy to see this large skipper in the Model Monarch Waystation section of the Butterfly Meadow. Apart from this species, she reports also seeing a few cabbage whites and a damaged dun skipper.
10-JUL-2013
The Asteroid caterpillar (Cucullia asteroides ), #10200
As you can see, this caterpillar would be easily overlooked, but Diane found this one and took an excellent shot of it. It is probably much more common at FWG than we know, but because of its ability to blend in so well, it is overlooked. We have had them occasionally at the garden in the past.
10-AUG-2013
Meadow spittlebug (Philaneus spumarius)
Diane photographed this spittlebug on a black-eyed susan. The meadow spittlebug has at least 30 different forms, many of them hard to distinguish from other similar species, but this one is distinctive.
10-AUG-2013
Cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum)
A tall and striking plant native to the eastern part of North America. It doesn't grow naturally around here, however, but does very well in gardens and can spread in time. Chipmunks and squirrels love the seeds.
10-AUG-2013
Sand wasp (Bicyrtes) sp.)
Terrific photo by Diane of the large and handsome sand wasp on boneset. These big wasps are common in mid to late summer and we see them regularly at the FWG. They make their burrows in sandy soils, so they must be nesting somewhere in or near to the garden, but we haven't found evidence of nesting yet.
10-AUG-2013
Emerald Spreadwing (Lestes dryas)
A pretty shot by Diane, of this common, thick-bodied spreadwing.
10-AUG-2013
Leafhopper (Coelidia olitoria), male
These medium size leafhoppers are very common at this time of year, found almost everywhere. Their very noticeable nymphs are also found now. Diane took this beautiful shot.
10-AUG-2013
Ambush bug (Phymata)
By mid-summer, these funny, gnarly little bugs begin to appear and are soon commonly found on almost all flowers, lying motionless, waiting for an insect land, at which point they will quickly grab it. Their common name is apt, for they do ambush their victims.Diane took this pretty photo of two on tansy.
06-AUG-2013
Velvet leaf (Abutilon theophrasti)
This is a non-native annual that can turn up just about anywhere, never in any abundance, usually only in ones or twos, at least in my experience around here. However, in some places it is a real invasive of crop fields. I've had the odd one in my garden (not planted by me), and I've seen them in various locations, including in the past at FWG. This is the first one I've seen this year. They have an attractive flower and seed pod. They are in the mallow family.
06-AUG-2013
Jumping spider (Tutelina similis)
This little jumping spider has been hanging around this bee box for some weeks. She is an unusual shape and colour for a jumper. You can see how small she is by comparing her to the size of bee nest hole which looks huge in comparison! She appears to be nesting in one of the holes.
06-AUG-2013
Ragweed beetles (Zygogramma suturalis)
I decided to see if I could find some ragweed beetles today, and ended up seeing at least 8. And guess what? None were on ragweed! In fact, about 90% of the time I've found them on something other than ragweed, usually on Bidens sp. Another interesting thing about these beetles is that in sunlight they look very different than when in shade. here, they appear to have a reddish cast to them. But in the next photo, they look completely black and white.
These are members of the Chrysomelidae, leaf-eating beetles. At one point they were exported to Russia as a biocontrol agent for our native ragweed which is an invasive species in Russia. The idea was that as they are closely associated with ragweed, they would control it. This didn't work. Or it has not worked yet. You could say it is not working here either, given the amount of ragweed around. But perhaps without these native beetles we'd have twice as much. And don't forget the ragweed fly which also has some impact on ragweed.
06-AUG-2013
Ragweed beetle (Zygogramma suturalis)
And here is the beetle looking very elegantly black and white, or perhaps black and silver.
06-AUG-2013
Planthopper (Metcalfa pruinosa)
While many of us have complained about the lack of insects this year, some species seem to be more abundant than in previous years. For whatever reason, this medium sized (about 6-7 mm) planthopper is everywhere!! I saw dozens today at FWG, and I see scores in my walks elsewhere in the region. They are an attractive insect, grayish to brown, with yellow eyes. This one is on a wild raspberry. They will feed on a variety of plants but damage is insignificant. You might also have seen their nymphs, which are more common than I've ever seen before. They look like little bits of white fluff on a stem, until they move and then you see distinct eyes and a feathery tail.
06-AUG-2013
Great black digger (Sphex pensylvanicus)
Mid-summer is when this impressively large Sphecid wasp turns up, along with another equally large Sphecid, the orange and black Sphex ichneumoneus, which I also saw today. This one is nectaring on canada thistle.
Although I mentioned low insect numbers earlier, today was actually quite a good day for seeing a variety of creatures. Included in my tally were dozens of the tiny green and black Acutalis treehoppers, one Enchenopa treehopper, Coelidia leafhoppers, Graphocephala leafhoppers, Bicyrtes wasps, a number of honey bees all nectaring on burdock flowers which are fresh right now, lots of bumblebees, a few sweat bees of different species, and a few leafcutter bees. There were many grasshoppers but difficult to get a good look at. For butterfly observations (not many), I saw a summer azure, 5 or 6 cabbage whites, and a white admiral.
06-AUG-2013
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
This was once more commonly seen at the garden than it is now. In fact, this clump is just south of the ash woods, technically not on FWG land. The Galerucella beetles which are doing such a fine job have not found this yet.
06-AUG-2013
Ruby-throated hummingbird on cardinal flower
There were two hummingbirds in the Backyard Garden this morning. They were very actively chasing each other and when not doing that, feeding on the cardinal flower. Unfortunately, they were a lot quicker than I was and though I tried, I only got one half-way decent shot.
06-AUG-2013
Treehopper (Enchenopa) eggs
I took a look in the usual spot to see if any of the little Enchenopa treehoppers were still visible. I found one adult, but a bunch of these white egg cases, which should ensure we'll see them again next year. To see newly emerged adults:
http://www.pbase.com/fwg/image/151269551
