Backyard August Life!

Great Golden Digger Wasp: Although these creatures look menacing, they are non-aggressive to humans. They paralyze their prey and feed it to the developing young. They are regular visitors to my garden.

The Oleander Aphid is bright yellow with black legs and antennae. It is sometimes called the Milkweed Aphid (I found it on my Swamp Milkweed). The Oleander aphid is remarkable in that reproduces parthenogentically; meaning there is no male or egg stage. Females produce only nymphs that moult five times as they grow and mature. Each generation also only produces female nymphs! 

https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/oleander-aphid

A tiny, Raspberry Pyrausta Moth

Bicoloured Pyrausta Moth

A Summer Azure almost opened it's wings wide! They usually perch with their wings closed. I rarely get to see the open forewing except when it is in flight.

Young American Robin after a bath in the water fall.

Hologram Moth from the overnight moth trap.

Orange-headed Callima Moth - only a few mm long.

Pennsylvania Ambush Bug: Many predators have learned to be patient and wait for their food to come to them. Countless insects drink nectar so predators wait for prey to land on the flower so they can grab their next meal.

Harvestman lurking under Wild Bergamot flower, waiting for his next meal to land.

Oblong Woolcarder Bee - scrapes tiny hairs off stems and leaves to form a ball of fibre which is used in the nest for egg laying. The white ball of fiber is visible under the abdomen. This is the second year that I have found the species on the Pearly Everlasting.

Thick-legged Hover Flies can be found across Eurasia and North America. They are critical pollinators for a variety of flowering plants and can serve as bio-indicators in which their abundance can reflect the health of the environment.

https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/1897731