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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”…
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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,…
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Up Close
Under the blazing midday sun a Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) uses its long proboscis to sip nectar from a Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar
Don’t miss the little things when you are out in nature. Little things in nature can be so cute, like this Banded Tussock moth caterpillar (Halysidota tessellaris). They look like tiny Yorkshire Terriers to me. Cute as they are though, don’t pick one up. Their furry coat can cause an itchy rash that will last…
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One Of Several Host Plants
The Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) on one of its many host plants. Silvery Checkerspots depend upon several composites as their host plants including Asters, Coneflowers, and Sunflowers. These two photos are of a species of Sunflower, Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus). _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up…
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Starry Campions Along The Trail
Starry Campion (Silene stellata), at the top of my normal hike, when I’m out wandering. My hikes are the same all the time. I’ve gotten to know my mountains well. What plants are where, whether it is a “bush” of American Chestnut, or a little puff of Pincushion Moss, I know where they are. This…
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Eastern Tiger Swallowtails Do Not Migrate
The Virginia state insect, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) doesn’t migrate but hunkers down in leaf litter as a chrysalis and waits out the winter in a state much like hibernation, called diapause. I don’t have any photographs of the chrysalis stage of the Tiger Swallowtail, but do have an image of a caterpillar…