26-JULY-2011
Eastern kingbird
This eastern kingbird was perched on the downed maple tree overhanging the pond, and making forays to catch insects, and also to chase off any other birds!
26-JULY-2011
Asian lady beetle larva (Harmonia axyridis) on wild parsnip
The parsnip plants are full of these tiny spiky larvae and the adult beetles.
25-JULY-2011
Primrose moth (Schinia florida) in Evening primrose, #11164
Such an exotic looking moth! That bright pink is an improbable colour and set against the yellow the evening primrose flowers, it is quite captivating! Now is the time to look for these moths. I have found several at the FWG so far, all stuck well into the primrose flowers.
25-JULY-2011
Dogwood spittlebug (Clastoptera proteus)
A tiny but beautifully marked spittlebug sitting on, where else, but a dogwood shrub, in this case, red osier dogwood.
25-JULY-2011
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
The red of this gorgeous native wildflower is vibrant, even on an overcast morning. It is so exotic looking that it appears to be an elegant garden plant gone wild.
25-JULY-2011
Wild rye (Elymus canadensis)
The spiky heads of this beautiful native grass are now in full flower.
25-JULY-2011
Question mark (Polygonia interrogationis)
Back in June, Diane and I found a question mark caterpillar on nettle. Today this adult was flying around, a bit worse for wear.
25-JULY-2011
Late instar black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes)
A shot of the much larger caterpillar, also on wild parsnip.
25-JULY-2011
Early instar black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes)
Although I haven't seen any adult black swallowtails at the FWG, they have clearly been around! Today I found 7 caterpillars. All were on the wild parsnip plant (Pastinaca sativa). Five were tiny, like this one, early instars, and two were very large, and thus late instars. It is the most I have seen at the FWG at one time and was encouraging. I hope they all survive!
Lichens
Sometimes we forget to look at the other things that surround us, like mosses and lichens. Barry took this photo of lichens today at the FWG.
Confused haploa (Haploa confusa)
These triangular moths with their bold markings are amongst my favourites. Their caterpillars are seen frequently in late April-May and by mid-July the adults are flying. They are called confused haploa because their pattern varies, and I don't think they are confused, it is us, when we see such dissimilar patterns and try to ID them!
Crab spider, female (Misumena vatia)
A very nice shot of this female crab spider in her shelter.
