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Thanks for letting me give you all that info about sexing a Green Frog, which is the most common Frog species around here. Now we can go and look at the plants flowering around here. First, that Japanese Anemone is still going. Next, both colors of Aster are blooming crazily out front, and show little sign of flagging. In fact, I'm guessing that when all that Goldenrod is pretty much gone, the Asters are prepping for a bigger show than ever! I only have two colors of Asters, Pink and Purple. But there are a godzillion buds coming along!
Oh, that Goldenrod! It is actually beginning to wind itself down, turning a bit brown around the gills. Picture 1 shows it getting ready to bloom; picture 2 in full bloom, and picture 3 shows it thinning out as it heads for the end of its run for this year. And My NOSE will be so happy, I hope! The good side of having a good crop of Goldenrod is all the different insects that come along with it. But the end game is nice too. I'm expectng that maybe next week we will see a little Bug, Drymus unus, that has only one spectacular side to it. That is, it will be here as the goldenrod dies out and it will bring along its mates. They will mate in the dying Goldenrod for a couple of weeks. I promise you will get to see that.
These red berries are the fruit of one of the Arums (related to Jack-in-the-Pulpit). Next is one of the last stands of the Wild Phlox. The Asters, however, are nowhere near quitting! Both pink and purple varieties are going wild!
A little bit of Deptford Pink still shows its colors! The TALL Evening Primrose is trying to outgrow the big house next door. Third, back in the spring you saw the long green leaves (but no flowers) called Colchicum. NOW you can see the purple blooms that were the missing flowers (Surprise!)
A little bit of Deptford Pink still shows its colors! The TALL Evening Primrose is trying to outgrow the big house next door. Third, back in the spring you saw the long green leaves (but no flowers) called Colchicum. NOW you can see the purple blooms that were the missing flowers (Surprise!)
Let's see some of the Critters that scurry around from Plant to Plant. I'll start with the Bugs. This first one I haven't seen for years. It's the male (black, not brown) Alder Spittlebug. Next is the Eastern Boxelder Bug. It is a Fall special and didn't disappoint this year either! And third is that ever-loving red and blue leafhopper, still around!
Here is Acanthocephala terminalis, identified because of the orange tips of its antennae. Second of course is our old friend the Assassin Bug Zelus luridus.
Beetles? Two kinds of Asian Lady Beetles and that Locust Borer.
Ants - a pair and a spare...
Bees - lots of kinds. This first one is probably an ordinary Common Eastern Bumblebee. Next is a member of Leafcutter, Mortar, and Resin Bees (Genus Megachile). Third is probably an ordinary Western Honey Bee.
We had some intriguing Wasps too. This first one is a male Northern Paper Wasp, Polistes fuscatus. But these are all over the place. Next is one that I hadn't seen in a long time - a Widow Yellowjacket, Vespa vidua.
Two different kinds of Wasp on an Aster bud.
Butterflies and Skippers. This row is mostly Zabulon Skippers.
Here is a Grey Hairstreak, followed by two White Cabbage Butterflies (Pieris rapae). For some reason, my Backyard doesn't attract many of the big fancy Butterflies.
At left we see a Water Lily bud. Next is an interesting structure among the Water Lily buds. There haven't been any new Lilies lately, so I'm interested to see what is still to come. At the top left of picture 2 we see a real bud. Underneath the bud, we see the strange new structure. Let's keep our eyes peeled in the next week to see what will come of it.
Well, here we are at the end of the pictures I have for this week. I hope they will inspire you to keep an eye out for similar plants or animal creatures near you. Love, Martha
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