13-JUN-2017
stink bug (Banasa dimidiate)
A ubiquitous stink bug, often found on red osier dogwood berries.
13-JUN-2017
Ichneumonid wasp
I have heard it said that, with some exceptions, trying to put an ID on ichneumonids can be impossible, so I'll leave this without guessing, for now.
13-JUN-2017
Click beetle (Limonius sp.)
13-JUNE-2017
House wren
House wrens have nested at the Fletcher garden for the last15 years or so, usually two broods a year. They are vocal and not shy about advertising their presence.
13-JUN-2017
American redstart nest
I was crouching down to look at something when a blur of movement caught my peripheral vision: a male american redstart had flown into a shrub and was hopping from branch to branch all the way up to a nest. I backed well away and then the female flew in, immediately settled on her nest and I took a couple of shots with my zoom lens and let them be.
13-JUN-2017
Asian ladybeetle larva (Harmonia axyridis)
This prickly looking creature is the larval stage of the common asian ladybeetle. It is a voracious predator of aphids and is often found feeding on them or stalking them. In fact, you can see a couple of aphids in this shot.
13-JUN-2017
Dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis)
A showy member of the mustard family, these non-native plants are widespread and common throughout Ottawa though never in huge numbers. Bees and other insects are attracted to them, and as you can see, their colours range from white through pink to lilac.
13-JUN-2017
Leafhoppers (Diplocolenus)
A couple of tiny pale leafhoppers in the head of a stem of orchard grass.
13-JUN-2017
Black firefly (Lucidota atra)
One of many firefly species in the area, this one on the not yet fully opened flowerhead of queen-of-the-prarie.
13-JUN-2017
Eggs
These tiny white eggs on a blade of grass in the Butterfly Meadow, look like stinkbug eggs to me, but I'll check again later to see. They look as if they've just been laid.
13-JUN-2017
Red admiral butterfly larva (Vanessa atalanta)
Numerous stands of stinging nettle around the garden, deliberately left for this beautiful butterfly, are at the moment, hosting a number of caterpillars in various instars. To see the butterfly this spiky creature will become:
http://www.pbase.com/fwg/image/124531037
13-JUN-2017
Red admiral butterfly larval feeding shelter (Vanessa atalanta)
The red admiral caterpillars (previous photo) make these leafy shelters in nettle leaves in order to feed safely and undisturbed. Many lepidoptera larvae do similar things.
