August 3tap images for gallery view

 

Just what you need; another hoverfly. Well, there are lots of us. It's kind of funny. Ten days ago the photog was wondering where are the hoverflies? Well, we're back.
Did you know we're circumpolar? That's right. You're as likely to find us in Europe or central America as you are here. Oh yeah, I'm a pied hoverfly, Scaeva pyrastri. And, this blue lettuce nectar is superb.

 

 

Ahem. Do you mind? Can't you see we're busy here?

 

August 5tap images for gallery view

 

"Do few things and do them well," St Francis of Assisi said. Well, we do mostly one thing. We extract salt from soil. And we retain it. That's why we taste salty if you munch on us. Oh yeah, we're red samphire, Salicornia rubra. Our colouring isn't usually so fluorescent. It's been a peculiar year.

 

August 6tap images for gallery view

 

Oh stink. I was trying to stay out of sight ... hop ... but ... hop ... you ... hop hop ... found me.
Yep, I'm a northern leopard frog, Lithobates pipiens. Among other things we eat crickets, flies and worms. We're in decline in these parts. You have to be careful if you use chemical on your weeds. If we get sprayed we die. Our call sounds like a duck with a sore throat. You can listen here.

 

 

Hi. Remember me. I'm the autumn onion, Allium stellatum, again. You may recall that I started raising my flowers a month ago. Well, dinner is now being served. As you can see we're popular with bees. Hoverflies like our fare too.

 

 

Howdy. I'm a prairie cordgrass, Spartina pectinata, again. And, just like I said, we're a bunch grass. Although you might think we're on steroids. I started here about eight years ago. And I'm halfway to full grown.
We grow all round this area. We're one of the grasses that turn "bright" in the fall which is why this place is called Silver Plains.

 

August 7tap images for gallery view

 

Popular spot here. And, no, I did NOT eat this plant. It's the critter in the background. I do, though, eat plants. Farmers cringe when they hear the word grasshopper. Differential, Melanoplus differentialis, to be specific. Lucky for us Domesticuts have caused grassland birds and frogs to decline in numbers. Now, we don't have to worry so much about being eaten.

 

 

Oh shoot! The alarm didn't go off. Now, I'm going to be late for breakfast. Hate it when that happens. Can you ask them to save me a spot on that Flodman's thistle over there? Thanks. Oh yeah, I'm a bumblebee, Bombus species.

 

 

What can I say? It was a late night. I nodded off. Good thing I can get straight to work once I wake up. Oh yeah, I'm a long-horned bee, and this is a beautiful sunflower.

 

August 8tap images for gallery view

 

Hey dude. How's it going? Yeah. I'm another spiny assassin bug. Sinea spinipes to an entom. Before you get all fussed and think, "Yikes. don't want those around." Let me tell you what we like to eat: aphids, leafhoppers, lady bugs and asparagus beetle eggs and larvae.
Some people raise and sell us to organic farmers. ☺

 

 

Oh. Hi. Sorry, I didn't see you right away. This stiff goldenrod nectar is amazing. So is this place. Six kinds of goldenrod, five milkweeds and and and. Lots to choose from.
Oh yeah, I'm a tricolored bumble bee, Bombus ternarius. Lots on us here.

Thanks to Alon Coppens for the ID.

 

 

Good morning. I'm a swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnata. I'm just about done for the year. We package our seeds just like Indian hemp. Only we point our pods up. We also hang onto the seeds over winter and release them in the spring.
We're rare in these parts. But we've been having a great year here. There are lots of us now all over the place. ☺

 

 

This is an elevated view of our front yard. It's about 670 m² (7,200 ft²). There are roughly 80 native species growing here, including grasses, forbs, sedges, sub-shrubs and a vine. There are also a couple of lichens and mosses. This year it has been a breeding ground for monarchs and wood nymphs. And, now the sulphurs and fritillaries are showing up. Not to mention the moths, etc.

 

 

Good day. I'm the "beautiful" sunflower, Helianthus pauciflorus, again.
My nectar is popular with just about everybody. And I'm a host plant for lots of flutterby and moth caterpillars. Or so they say, here.

 

August 9tap images for gallery view

 

Hello. I'm a large lace-border moth. Scopula limboundata in science-speak. As you know, many moths are active at night. I'm one of them. So, if it's not too much of a bother, I'd like to go back to sleep.
BTW: "large" is a bit misleading. My wingspan is all of 25 - 30 millimetres (0.98 - 1.18 inches).

 

 

Good day to you. I'm a prairie sage, Artemisia ludoviciana, again. As you can see my dark purplish brown flowers are tiny. That's okay. Hoverflies are small, too.
Did you know that if you wrap us in a bundle, let it dry, then set it on fire, the smoke will clear negative energy? That's right, it's called smudging.

 

 

Hey, helenium, Helenium autumnale, again. I'm just about ready for the bees, flutterbyes and flies.
I have another common name—sneezeweed—because Wildernots used to crush my dried flowers and use the powder as snuff. Yes, it helps clear blocked nasal passages which could cause headaches.

 

 

Hey, good to see you. I'm that fringed brome, Bromus ciliatus L., again. Remember I told you my seeds are velvety and the colour of chocolate milk. Well, they are. Birds and small mammals like to eat them.

 

 

We are the alpha, the mésis and the omega.
Yep, you already know which forb I am.