Recent Summer Finds!

A Giant Swallowtail stopped for a drink along a very busy flight path. It looks like it is leading a parade!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Chicken of the Woods: This wide-spread fungus gets its name from the texture of its flesh, which is said to resemble cooked chicken.

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/fungi/chicken-woods

Dog Vomit Slime Mould - Love the name!

Feather-legged Scoliid Wasps are ground-nesting wasps that eat white grub larvae of June Beetles and Japanese Beetles. The grubs are found in the soil. The wasp will dig into the soil, paralyze the beetle larva and attach her egg to it. When the egg hatches, a food source is readily available to the larva. Unlike social wasps, they don't form colonies or aggressively defend nests. They are harmless to humans but incredibly valuable to the ecosystem.

https://canningcrafts.com/blogs/news/wasps-the-unsung-heroes-of-the-garden

Great Blue Heron viewing the surroundings.

Northeastern Hammertail adults are active from May through September. They are typically found in Grasslands, Sandy and Dry areas. They often land on moving objects, including cattle and humans but apparently don’t bite unless mishandled.

http://minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/northeastern_hammertail.html

Monarch in a cultivated Canatara garden.

Insect Mating Season is here!

The non-native Cabbage White Butterfly was accidentally released in Quebec in 1850, probably from imported cabbages, and spread rapidly across eastern North America. It is the most abundant butterfly species that I find locally.

https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/cabbage-white

A large weevil known by its Latin name: Lixus Macer

Silver-spotted Skipper adults nectar on a wide variety of flowers. They show a clear preference for blue, pink and purple flowers and rarely visit yellow flowers.

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/silver-spotted-skipper-epargyreus-clarus/

Stripe-legged Robber Fly