05-JUN-2015
Help in the Backyard Garden
The PWC volunteers also helped thin some of the more robust plants in the Butterfly Bed. Rough Goldenrod, Flat-topped Aster, and Joe-Pye Weed were all cut back to make room for the shorter plants, including Pearly Everlasting, which was hosting American Lady caterpillars.
05-JUN-2015
Ready for the sale
Plants were potted up for the sale, but also to plant in other parts of the FWG. Thanks, PWC! It's always a pleasure working with your Green Teams.
05-JUN-2015
Goldenrod leaf beetle larva (Trirhabda)
The small black larvae of the Trirhabda beetle is very numerous this year on the goldenrods. It is always present in good numbers but this year seems especially abundant. According to Bug Guide, identification to species level is difficult. There are several species found on goldenrods and all the larvae look virtually identical.
05-JUN-2015
Two visitors on a purple loosestrife leaf
The Galerucella beetle was introduced to control purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). Here you can see that the larvae have been hard at work. There are few loosestrife plants at the garden, thanks in part to these beetles. The beetle larva here is on the left side of the leaf. The other critter is a very small sawfly larva.
05-JUN-2015
Bumble bee (Bombus)
The lupines in the butterfly meadow, although not native, attract numerous insects, bees in particular, here, a bumble bee.
05-JUN-2015
Damsel bug (Nabis)
These unusual looking insects overwinter as adults, and when spring comes and they become active again, they feed on a variety of insects, including caterpillars. This one is feeding on a tiny, tiny red admiral caterpillar, on some nettle. The bug itself is only about 7 mm and it is about the same size as the now dead caterpillar.
05-JUN-2015
Damsel bug (Nabis)
These unusual looking insects overwinter as adults, and when spring comes and they become active again, they feed on a variety of insects, including caterpillars. This one had been feeding on a tiny, tiny red admiral caterpillar, on some nettle. This bug is about 7mm in length, and in the next photo you can see it with the early instar caterpillar.
05-JUN-2015
Jumping spider, probably Eris militaris
A medium sized jumping spider, I am thinking this is the Bronze jumper, Eris militaris, although jumping spiders can vary in colour and pattern, and can often be difficult to ID.
05-JUN-2015
Picture-winged fly, possibly Chaetopsis
There were numbers of these tiny flies around the pond, landing on cattails, as here, and other aquatic vegetation. I think this is in the genus Chaetopsis, which is typically found in marshy areas, with lots of cattail growth.
05-JUN-2015
Mottled tortoise beetle (Deloyala guttata)
A mating pair tortoise beetles is not something I see too often. They were too busy to fall off the leaf, which is what they usually do when approached. These tiny (5-7mm) beetles are intriguing with their tortoise-like 'shell' and the tortoise-like ability to pull head and legs under it.
05-JUN-2015
Long-horned leaf beetle (Donacia)
A top view of this small shiny beetle seen also in the next shot. They are common around the big Amphibian Pond.
05-JUN-2015
Long-horned leaf beetle (Donacia)
Lots of these small shiny beetles around the pond which is where you generally find members of this genus. They are in the leaf-eating beetle family, Chrysomelidae which contains numerous beautifully coloured and patterned beetles.