19-Sep-2019
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
There are still monarch butterflies and even caterpillars in some parts of the region, but time is passing and the migration has already begun as these butterflies head south.
19-Sep-2019
Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)
All around the garden we can see food caches created by red squirrels, stocking up for the long winter. Here, the red is eating a pine cone.
19-Sep-2019
Bumble bee on jewelweed
It took awhile for this bee to grab onto the flower securely. It then hoisted itself along the flower to the opening and dove in.
19-Sep-2019
Painted lady butterfly (Vanessa cardui)
It has been quite the summer for these butterflies which began to appear in large numbers from mid-summer onward.
19-Sep-2019
Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
The distinctive seedpods of swamp milkweed. Like the more familiar common milkweed, these plants also attract numerous insects with their flowers, and monarch butterflies will lay their eggs on these plants.
19-Sep-2019
Bumble bees on goldenrod
The various goldenrod species attract numerous bees and butterflies and other insects.
19-Sep-2019
Bumble bees on goldenrod
Goldenrods and asters are the flowers of late summer and the bees (and other insects) love them.
19-Sep-2019
New england asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
These beautiful native asters are, along with goldenrods, the colour of autumn. Bees and butterflies love them.
19-Sep-2019
Grape vines
These grape vines are impressive and give the illusion one is in a tropical jungle somewhere. On a hot humid day at the garden, the feeling is further enhanced. Birds love to hide in the tangle as it provides protection from the eyes of predators.
19-Sep-2019
Beggarticks (Bidens)
The seeds of these plants stick tight and are hard to dislodge, one of the ways they are able to spread.
19-Sep-2019
Hickory tussock moth caterpillar (Halysidota tessellaris), #8203
I don't see these caterpillars very often at the garden. They are more common in places such as Larose Forest. They turn into a very attractive, boldly patterned moth.
19-Sep-2019
Banded tussock moth caterpillar (Halysidota tessellaris), #82013
This year the banded tussock caterpillars seem to be particularly abundant, though I have not found many at the FWG (only two on the 19 Sept), but there are very likely a lot more than just a few at the garden. One day in Larose Forest I counted over 200. They are variable in colour ranging from this pale yellow, to a rich deep yellow, to white, to gray.