Treat After Yoga

Sitting there, stretched out, sunning itself, as I pulled up to the garage this morning after yoga. Not the least bit concerned that a pick-up truck had pulled up beside it. A handsome adult, Broad-headed Skink (Plestiodon laticeps). Yes, a Skink, but also a type of Lizard.

Look at that cute little face! Such a content model for my camera.

Occasionally described as a snake with legs, but of course there are those legs, and their eyes have eyelids, so they can close their eyes, and they have external ear openings which snakes don’t have. Not a snake.

These Skinks climb trees. A large Skink that can grow to be 12 inches long, and can live to 5 years, or older. They eat invertebrates, including insects and spiders, as well as small rodents and reptiles, and plant matter.

What a treat to get to visit with one of my neighbors this morning!

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Agreeable Tiger Moth Caterpillar

I took this image of an Agreeable Tiger Moth Caterpillar (Spilosoma congrua) a couple days ago.

Agreeable Tiger Moths can be found throughout eastern North America. Their caterpillars eat Dandelions, Plantain, and a species of Amaranthus, called Pigweed.

It was a surprise to look at this image, after loading the pictures onto my computer. The small red spots on the sides of the caterpillar had gone unnoticed till then.

I’m hoping one of these days to see an adult Agreeable Tiger Moth. To me, with my imagination, the moth looks like a cartoon character. It’s nearly all fuzzy and white, with large dark eyes, an orange bib, and orange and black legs. I’ll be sure to show you pictures once I do see one!

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Bounty Of Summer

The bounty of summer. Radish, zucchini and jalapeño pepper, and soon to be on the dinner table.

These from the garden. Tomatoes of all sorts. This just a day’s harvest.

Potatoes. Colors of all sorts. Another day. Another harvest.

Another harvest. Peppers. Some hot, some not. All good! Oh, and I see a couple tomatoes in there too.

All this, not from my labor but my husband’s efforts. A man of many talents.💚

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Dots Dots And More Dots

So many dots on the Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis). Host plant? Of course it is Hackberry trees (Celtis).

As adults the butterflies live 6 to 14 days. During that very short period of time they seldom visit flowers for sustenance but instead get nutrients from rotting fruits and vegetables, carrion, scat, damp sand, tree sap or muddy soil, and they are one of the butterflies that seek sodium in human sweat. So if one lands on your sweaty arm, you’ll understand.

That bowl with the corn cobs in it, was set out on my back porch to see who would show up. The Hackberry Emperor gets the prize.

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Plain Brown Butterfly With Sparkle

A little brown butterfly with a wingspan of about 1.5 inches. Not a moth, I did say butterfly. A Gemmed Satyr (Cyllopsis gemma), which can be found in the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico.

On the ventral, or underside, of this butterfly’s wings, on the outer edges, there are lines of four round “gems” looking much like highly polished jet that reflect light. Those “gems” are set against a silvery patch that creates an image that looks to me like images of cute little Jumping Spiders (Salticidae) looking back at me. Using your imagination, see if you can see the Jumping Spider too.

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Flowers Of Scarlet

Stunning scarlet flowers, an invitation to butterflies and hummingbirds. Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis). Native to North America, Central America, and South America. And here in Virginia it is native to all of our counties.

Here the brilliance of the flowers attract a Pipevine Swallowtail (Papilio troilus).

These tubular flowers are the perfect design for hummingbirds, which of course are the hummingbirds’ favorite color. This, a female or juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).

Streams, roadside ditches, moist soils are where Cardinal Flowers tend to show up. I love to see them along the road at the bottom of the mountain, blooming a few weeks before they bloom here, further up the mountain.

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Cicada Killer

Quite an impressive wasp, due to its size, a Cicada Killer (Sphecius speciosus). Its size is between 1.125 to 2 inches long. Females are larger than males. Though what seems like an intimidating size, they are not to be feared. The males don’t have stingers and females are intent on using their stingers for paralyzing cicadas which they often catch in flight. Those females, with their stingers, will only sting you if very provoked.

These wasps as larvae or grubs, overwinter in a cocoon in the soil. They emerge in the middle or late summer. During their exceeding short life as adults they feed on flower nectar.

Males’ purpose in life is to mate, living for about 2 weeks.

After mating, the female wasps look for the perfect spot to dig their burrows. They hunt up Cicadas, paralyze them, bury them, each with an egg in the Cicada which will nourish the grub until it emerges as an adult the following summer. All this in the course of about 4 weeks.

The Cicada Killer is a beneficial insect, helping to control harmful Cicada populations and help in pollination.

Joe Pye Weed

Native to eastern and central North America, Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium) blooms for us toward the end of summer. A tall one, often growing to between 5 and 7 feet tall.

And if you’re curious, as I was, there is this from the New York Times. “AS the story goes, there once was an Indian medicine man named Joe Pye who used concoctions from a wild plant found growing in the nearby woods to cure typhoid fever. His brew is said to have halted an epidemic that raged in Colonial Massachusetts. Hence this local plant became forever known as joe-pye weed.”

Joe Pye Weed attracts an assortment of pollinators, including Skippers (Hesperiidae), one of which I’ve included here and in the image below.

The nectar of the flowers attract the Skippers, as well as Honey Bees, Butterflies, Moths, and other Bee species. Occasionally the flowers can be fragrant.

A very attractive flower for the month of August.

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Sunflowers and Goldfinches

The perfect combination. Sunflowers (Helianthus) and Goldfinches (Spinus tristis).

Goldfinches eat mostly seeds. Little seeds. Though Sunflower seeds are a bit larger than they often eat, they love to come to my Sunflowers as they droop, seeds maturing.

They do eat other seeds, primarily in the composite family, and also seeds of weed and grasses, and the small seeds of Alder, Birch, and Elm trees.

But here in my garden, both bringing bright, sunshine yellow, representing pure happiness. Most welcome.

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