January Frog

 

I was pruning back the stems for the clover bush, which had several inches of the small leaves piled at the base, when I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye.  Turning toward the movement, and focusing on what was there, I saw this little fellow.  He, or maybe she, sat there watching me carefully.  It was only about 50 degrees, but the sun was shining so he had that additional warmth.  I decided to not remove all of the leaves as I had planned, but left them there so he could burrow back down into their insulation.  There are still more months of cold weather to come.

An Assassin Bug

While Aidan was enjoying a supervised visit to the Secret Garden, I noticed a surprising insect.  With the camera just inside the door, and the bug moving slowly, I was able to get a number of great shots.  

This is an Arilus cristatis, commonly know as a Wheel Bug.  At 1.5 inches long, it is the largest true bug.  It is one of the assassin bugs because it feeds on all other kinds of insects. You can see the flowers of the Osmanthus bush on the side.  I suspect the Wheel bug was waiting for bees to come so it could have a meal.

This angle shows the characteristic spokes of the "wheel" behind its head.  Just below the antennae, the beak is visible, bent back toward the body.  It uses this beak to pierce the shells of other insects or caterpillars, with one tube to inject digestive fluids, and a second tube used to suck out all those goodies.  A truly Halloween worthy bug!

An October visitor

 

It is interesting how different flowers attract different butterflies.  This appears to be a Cloudless Sulphur butterfly sipping deeply on the scarlet flowers of the Pineapple Sage.  

This sage has only just begun to bloom; it had me wondering if it would ever bloom, had fooled me, and was really a weed.  They are an annual, and this self-seeded in a flower bed at least 20 feet away from the original one.

The cooler weather makes these smaller butterflies a bit slower on the wing.

September and Early October Visitors

There have been few new varieties arriving in September, and a diminishing number of butterflies as the temperature have been cooling into October.

This Variegated Fritillary arrived a few weeks ago, finally settling down so I could get this clear shot of its dorsal view.  Yet, this is the only one of these that I have seen.

Here is another kind of Grass Skipper.  I believe it is a Sachem, but not completely sure of that.  I have a picture of another Skipper, but have been unable to clearly identify what kind it is.  There are a lot of varieties, and many are very close in appearance.

Here is an Orange Sulphur.  This little fellow is very mobile, stopping for very short times to feed while flying over wide areas for a few minutes at a time.  I found myself running back and forth chasing it around the yard.  

There is another, brighter yellow, small butterfly that has so far evaded my camera.  Maybe with cooler weather it will slow down?

The Elusive Monarch Butterfly

After a number of attempts, I was finally able to get the solitary Monarch butterfly that has been showing up.  At least I assume it is the same one.  This one has an identifying feature I can check on future shots; its left antennae is missing.  I hope to see many more of these over the next several weeks.

Here is another shot of a Skipper.  I am pretty sure it is a Fiery Skipper, which I have seen earlier.  I am very excited to see the amount of detail in this perfectly focused photo.  It speaks to the impressive quality of the camera lens and its auto focus capabilities which are put to the est for all of the moving insect shots.

Magnolia, Wasp and Nursery

 

The 'Little Gem' Magnolia continues to bloom through the summer.  Most of them are far above my height, but this one is within reach.  The shape of its inner parts continues through to the seed pods that drop all over.  Aidan has decided that they are great fun for chewing, while I fear he will swallow one.

On the other side of the yard a Great Black Wasp is busy collecting nectar from the cat mint, Calamintha nepeta "Monrose White'.  They are nectar and pollen eaters.  I often see these among the flowers, and am pleased to learn that they are quite beneficial.  They burrow in the soil and lay their eggs next to a cricket, grasshopper or Katydid carcass, keeping those chewers under control.  

Earlier I had a picture of the caterpillar for a Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly.  If you look closely you will find at least four of them in this picture.  At the top is a very large one chewing on a Aristolochia fimbriata (White Veined Dutchman’s Pipe) leaf.  Stupid me, I had not made the connection between the vine and the butterfly!  This is their favored food, and the flowerbed is full of the vines.  Therefore, I keep seeing lots of these beautiful swallowtails in the garden.  And the vines are still growing, though not as large as usual.

Ongoing Search

 

The search for new varieties of butterflies continues.  This appears to be a Great Spangled Fritillary based on the pictures of the top of the wings, and the underside of the wings, as seen below.

I have waited a few days before putting up these photos, hoping I could get a clearer picture of the top of the wings.  But this is the only one that I have been able to get on the camera.

I have seen one other orange butterfly, which I believe was a Monarch.  However, it quickly moved through the garden, and was gone by the time I got back with the camera.  Often the Monarch butterflies return in the autumn on their migration back South.  I have milkweed plants waiting their arrival.

Finally, here is one of many Praying Mantises standing guard in hopes of catching one of the dwindling number of butterflies.