Tag: Color

Catbrier and Beautyberry

It has been so dry, but yesterday brought a glorious 1/4 inch of rain. Hallelujah! That rain brings a brief moment of relief to suffering vegetation.

The rain also brings beauty to the landscape. I love what rain does to colors, deepens them, makes them more rich. But of course more rich! Those colors are decorated with DIAMONDS. Here a Catbrier leaf, Smilax bona-nox, sparkling with rain drop diamonds, set against berries of Japanese Beautyberry, Callicarpa japonica.

Those berries will go begging for a while. There are more yummy things to tempt the birds right now, but as the days get shorter until we reach the dead of winter, birds will gather in the branches of these bushes and strip them bare.

Keep in mind if you are interested in Beautyberry, there is a highly recommended native, Callicarpa americana. Keep that scientific name in mind as you shop. Natives are the way to go.

 

 

GOOD Mosquito?

Legs covered in blue and purple sparkles with a gilded body, much larger than mosquitoes that we usually notice, the Elephant Mosquito, Toxorhynchites rutilus, is one mosquito that we should encourage.

The largest mosquito in North America, from tip to tip (of its legs) this mosquito measures one inch, and the adult female has a wing span of half an inch. That large size, and a proboscis that resembles an elephant’s trunk, gives this mosquito its common name. That proboscis is used for the gathering nectar from flowers.

Here is the REALLY good part (1), the Elephant Mosquito does not hunt humans down to get a blood meal. They won’t bite us as they cruise the gardens looking for sources of nectar. They won’t bite as they roam the neighborhood hunting for plant sap, honeydew, or juices from rotting fruit, which they also eat.

And REALLY good part (2), the larvae of Elephant Mosquitoes eat other mosquito larvae!

Wow! Include this insect on my list of best friends!