The Little One

Okay, by popular demand this post includes a picture of our new addition.

These two get along pretty well - like sisters.


They love sitting in the yard and finding new things...here is a Monarch that decided to hold on here.


The aster is starting to bloom...once it's a mass of purple it looks great.


A late planting of seeds has filled in.


The adventurous dogs wanted to come with on a second visit to the grasslands...


Some great views again...


Also a bit of the insect life...this moth really caught my eye. I almost ran over this spider walking - having haven't seen ones like this in the yard.

Butterfly Caterpillar

(black swallowtail caterpillar?)

I'm so excited! We were out playing with the dogs and I spotted this caterpillar in the parsley...I'm pretty sure I never saw the mother (or the father for that matter)...but I wonder if this is a black swallowtail caterpillar. That would be so great -- well it will be great whatever it is.

Back with a Safari

Hi everyone...no, we did not get eaten by bears or have any mishaps on our trip. Our trip was fine and was only a few days long, I might make some posts later (or might not). But being gone did offer an "easy" disconnect from the blog world.

Anyways a lot has happened in the garden front...I even missed a Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day...but it is easier for me to start with a good ol' Safari.

This is my purple aster plant...it's a bit early for blooms, but there are bugs there!


Good thing there are plenty of these around.


Speaking of these...the bees seem to be quite happy, or is it anxious the summer is closing? I have see a lot of bumble bees in the garden...they seem to like the basil. Here's one bee I spotted.


Another bee hanging upside down in the flower.


Look who visited on their way through!


I have been happy to catch a Monarch in the garden almost every year. Usually just one or two, but they always pay me a visit. It makes my garden feel like...a garden.


That's it...I will try to get be into the swing of things. Besides this is supposed to be my record keeping too.

Sunday Safari: Pupas

It's Sunday, and I have a Safari...even if it is gray and rainy right now. Next week I will probably be late -- we are going on a little vacation...some scenic roads, visits to parks, and camping. When I get back I can post my remote safari pictures. On to the today's safari...

Well, some of the lady beetle nymphs I posted about earlier have started their pupal stage. Now there are these funny looking bumps on the plants. I know it's perception, but it seems that these insects start as innocent looking eggs, emerge as fierce looking nymphs, form funny looking pupas, and end up friendly little ladybugs.


(ladybug pupa)

I caught this red colored dragonfly resting. I noticed and read that some rest with the wings forward like this.




The bumblebee is interested in the onion blooms. It seems to be "Bee" season here (when it isn't rainy) there are many buzzing around lately.




My "friendly" wasp is still hanging around. I believe it has a ground nest somewhere in the vegetables...haven't had a conflict yet (or found a hole). It should be okay as the area the nest is located doesn't need to be disturbed until fall cleanup.


I'm going to end with a fly...this one is more bronze or brown instead of the greens I have seen.

Sunday Safari

I made it on Sunday this week...we were gone to a wedding, but we are back and managed to catch some insects and bugs in the garden.

Last week I commented how some of my old bee friends seemed to have been replaced by new ones...I was happy to find this week all past bees and the new ones all at the same time! So we had the honey bees, mason bees, "leaf cutter", the black with white hair, and the little black with yellow pollen sacks...here are some shots.


This week the real highlight is some new bug (also in the first photo). I don't know what it is...it looks like some relative of a milk weed bug, but we don't have milk weed and this one didn't seem to act like one...

Update: Thanks to Cheryl's lead in the comments I now know this is the adult Squash Vine Borer (Melittia satyriniformis) that happens to be a type of Wasp Moth. My complaint is that it looks so nice to be a "bad guy". We will see how the spaghetti squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers fare with evidence of these around.

It sort of buzzed around and hovered in front of flowers...at first I had though it was a red colored bee, until I got a good look.


See here the white bands and the long fuzzy back legs kicking to keep a hover...


Whatever it is, I so far have seen one...but it has been present throughout the week.


Happy bug bug hunting and thanks for visiting.

Sunday's Safari on Monday

I did the Sunday Safari, but didn't get a chance to post it until today...

My old leaf-cutter or mason bees seem to have disappeared but are replaced by others. Above is a picture from last Sunday -- I had rescued this one from a pool of water and place it on a leaf. Later it flew away, but I haven't noticed them around since. I also had an encounter with a honey bee (which I haven't seen lately) and we are both unharmed -- but no photos...

There must be a change in the season or at least a difference in recent weather because I notice a change in the insects I am finding. Fewer hover flies and more lady beetles. Here is a hover fly I did catch on the dill.


One lady beetle, two lady beetle...


Three lady beetle (from two angles)...


Four lady beetle...(there were more)


One of the "new" bee visitors. This one was hard to catch because it kept crawling to the top of plants and flying off. Finally it took a little break.


Another type of new bee visitor. I noticed at least a couple of these in the same flower patch. These smaller bees were also hard to catch...they didn't stay long on one bloom.


A frequent sight...daddy long-legs always hiding in the leaves.


Thanks for visiting...hope you are enjoying the wildlife in your gardens.

Sunday Safari

It's another Sunday! Let's see what we can stir up in the garden...well not much on film. I don't know if it is because of some rain this last week or our North Dakota winds, but I wasn't able to find many bugs in the garden. I saw some bees and I saw a great dragonfly and the hoverflies are out in masses, but here is what's on film.

Above, one of said hoverflies. I like this one because it is a little larger than the others and a bright yellow.

I did get a shot of one of the bees. This one and another have been around for a while now. Before I thought it might be a leaf-cutter bee, but I am thinking it could be a mason bee. It seems to be a pair (if they do that sort of thing). There is this one and another with a lighter abdomen. I am convinced to either buy or build a mason bee house for next spring.


This wasp has been very hard to catch. It lives somewhere in the yard...don't know what kind it is or if it is aggressive. It's pretty flighty and this was the best I could do to record it today.


I will end with a common green bottle fly. They are kind of pretty even though they probably qualify as more of a pest.


Please visit the other Sunday Safari posts. I only know specifically of Cheryl at My Wildlife Sanctuary and Sherry at Q's Corner these are the ones who got me interested enough start thinking about what's in the "backyard". Anyone else who has a safari, let me know in a comment -- it's great to see what everyone has living in the garden!

Sunday Safari - Bees

Once again I'm out to find some insects in the garden. It has been a hot weekend. This last week I have spotted some new bees visiting. This guy above and the next two pictures below is kind-of funny. I am lead to believe it is a male leaf cutting bee (genus Megachile)...I haven't see any cut leaves though.

Here's a better view of his back...


In this shot you can see the front leg (with the whitish hair puff) cleaning the antenna. I guess these ornamental front legs are characteristic of the males.


I got a bumblebee! I head it "bumbling" and had to run for the camera to catch evidence it was here.


I spotted this larger type of hover fly...it's much bigger than the normal ones like in the next shot.


One of our "normal" hover flies.


Look who found the brassicas.


Look who grew up from last week... okay I'm betting it's not the same individual.


Just a damsel.


Thanks for stopping by...now go see what's in your garden!