22-SEP-2017
Great golden digger wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus)
Nectaring on mountain mint which is a magnet for insects in late summer-early autumn.
22-SEP-2017
Blackberry looper moth caterpillar (Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria), #7071
This small Geometridae caterpillar turns into a beautiful little green moth seen in early to mid-summer.
22-SEP-2017
Great golden digger wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus)
Found just one lone digger wasp nectaring on mountain mint in the backyard garden. They are impressively large and attractive creatures who stock their nest sites with live, but paralyzed Orthoptera for their young to eat.
22-SEP-2017
Song sparrow
While many birds have already left the region, there are still many hanging on. Song sparrows return early and leave relatively late. This was one of many seen at FWG, along with gray catbirds, robins, white-breasted nuthatches, starlings, chickadees, cardinals and so on.
22-SEP-2017
Painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui)
Most reports of painted ladies indicate that they are favouring asters to nectar on, not surprising given the preponderance of this species. In other sites I have seen them on dandelions and on red clover too, and here at the FWG, they've also been found on sunflowers in the butterfly mneadow.
22-SEP-2017
Butterfly meadow
A panoramic view of the butterfly meadow with the path bisecting it. The Monarch Waystation kiosk is on the right side, the bench on the left.
22-SEP-2017
Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
A very large garter snake that was hanging out by the pond, no doubt hoping to find supper amongst the frogs there.
22-SEP-2017
Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Another shot of the garter snake showing how big it is.
22-SEP-2017
Cynipid wasp galls (Phylloteras poculum)
There were numerous galls on the underside of bur oak leaves. The wasp that makes these galls is tiny, so tiny that it probably goes unnoticed, certainly far, far smaller than the galls. I have always found these on bur oaks, not so far, on red oaks, though I have seen photos of them on white oaks, so they be on more oak species than I know. I find them quite interesting in their shape, like small drinking vessels.
22-SEP-2017
Cynipid wasp galls (Phylloteras poculum)
Another shot of these galls on bur oak, this one looking at them top down.
22-SEP-2017
Garden cross orbweaver (Araneus diadematus)
High up in a walnut tree, snug in her shelter, this orbweaving spider waits for a tug on her web some distance below. It is amazing, truly, how fast these spiders move when they think something has become entangled in the web. Speed of light (almost!), and the speed with which they wrap their prey is also astonishing.
22-SEP-2017
Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
Although it feels like July, it seems the squirrels aren't fooled and they are extremely busy gathering food for the winter.
