I planted lots of fennel and parsley for the swallowtail caterpillars, and have been disappointed this summer because I hadn't seen any. The other day I was so pleased to see one. When I went to see it the next day, it was gone. I hope it is a chrysalis somewhere.
I saw some smaller worms when digging potatoes, but didn't have my camera with me. I had it with me when I saw this larger one.
I'm continuing to see several monarchs every time I go out. Someone had asked me if I grow the host plant, which is milkweed. Yes, I grow several kinds of it, and was pleased to see one of the wild kinds growing in one of my flowerbeds. It is behaving itself quite well so far. I don't know if I will let it go to seed. At least I won't let seeds be scattered to my neighbors' yards.
I'm seeing more silver spotted skippers and other kinds of butterflies now.
I don't use insecticides, so I see several kinds of bees every day, too. I don't know if I mentioned this in another post, but I've been seeing bees sleeping on flowers, mostly in the mornings. Do you ever see bees sleeping or resting?
I'm continuing to have to pick my tomatoes before they are ripe. I'm still not sure whether it's birds, squirrels, or both eating on them. It's very frustrating, because they eat on more than half of what I pick.
This is a clearwing hummingbird moth. I have a photo of one taken last year in August as well. I only saw it this day when my son was over, and he was excited to get photos, too.
My son told me what these are, but I forgot. I thought they were lightning bugs, but he said they are related.
Here are a bunch of them.
Here is my husband pulling creeping Charlie and our grandson with his "bugs rule" shirt on. Some people don't like insects. They play many important roles in life, such as being part of the food chain, and pollinating crops so we can have food. I'm saying this because I stumbled on a blog where someone was talking about her daughter refusing to kill a spider in the yard. It upset me, but I didn't leave a comment. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or offend anyone, but if you garden, you really should welcome spiders in your yard.
To see more Camera Critters click on the icon in my sidebar.
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ReplyDeleteI posted before did not check spelling and had too many errors , one that resembled a cuss word..oh my ..anyhow everytime I come here I wonder what you do for winter?do you force pretty bulbs, have seedlings, pretty house plants. I know you have loads of memories. I love those shirts see them at Sea World and other places. He is especially cute in it.I looked at all these critters and thought not only is your garden lovely but a real smorgasbord, plus they are helping to spread its lovelines!!
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, You have so many interesting bugs in your garden. I too like to take pictures of the different kinds we have here. Your Grandson sure is a cutie.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos Sue, the caterpillars seems to like dill more than any other herb. The clearwing hummingbird moth is a neat moth, I seen only one this year which is unusual.
ReplyDelete-Cathy
Good Morning Sue. I have a huge variety of bugs and worms in my yard. We are always happy to find earthworms when we dig. I plant for the butterflies and catapillers too--butterfly weed, parsley and dill to name a few. I always enjoy seeing your flowers.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures of your critters......I Love the picture your Grandson...he is growing so fast.
ReplyDeletePrayers, Bo
Sue, wonderful post. I'm with you ... the more insects the better and I don't use pesticides either. My tomatoes look like yours and I blame the squirrels and birds! I put my tomatoes in pots on my balcony this year. I heard a blue jay one morning and caught him in the act. Shame on him! ;D Love your garden and your cute grandson with his Bugs Rule shirt! YeeHaw!
ReplyDeleteWe were lucky enough to host ow generations of Swallowtails,this summer.We use parsley as the host plant.
ReplyDeleteYour shot of the hummingbird moth is wonderful!
Susan your critter pictures are so beautiful. I love the hummingbird moth. About the sleeping bees, I have had people say that the bees are drunk on the pollen.
ReplyDeleteSure have a lot of critters !
ReplyDeleteDon't see much monarchs...and now I understand they're starting to leave. The hummingbird moth just gives me the creeps. Think I have that other butterfly...have to look again.
Those cats are beautiful aren't they? I always see a lot of Monarchs and Silver-Spotted Skippers this time of year -- August seems to be a peak time for butterflies. I see bees asleep on the flowers all of the time.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any Swallowtail Caterpillars this year or last. I chalked it up to our drought.
ReplyDeleteI think those who garden organically might be more in tune to all the creatures that live in the garden. That is just my thoughts, but I think they all have a purpose and a place.
I have not seen a bee sleeping, but now that I have heard of it, maybe I will be more observant.
Lovely blooms, Sue!
What fascinating 'critters' in your garden ... beautiful photographs! I don't use insecticides either and I don't recall ever seeing a bee sleeping or at rest. I have LOTS of bees & wasps in my yard and they're ALWAYS on the move!
ReplyDeleteHugs and blessings,
I love bugs too! I can thank my Mom who would stop and point out a beautiful spiderweb or would shoo a moth out of the house instead of killing it. I've tried to grow fennel and dill at my butterfly garden but I think the gophers love the plants more than the caterpillars do...they eat them to the ground.
ReplyDeleteSue,
ReplyDeleteI have seen bees sleeping on flowers in the morning as well. I just figured they were just really tired from a busy day and they never made it back home to the hive.
I like that humminbird moth, very cool!
Rosey
Hi Sue, You are having a great time with your camera... and I'm feeling so sad not to have one!! ;-) I may recruit a friend to take a few photos for me tomorrow. Love your grandson's shirt. (It's true!) lol
ReplyDeleteI was in exactly the same boat with my fennel 2 weeks ago. With only one plant it only took a couple of days for the cats to defoliate it:) I have seen lots of sleeping bees on my morning rounds. Have been seeing the Silver Spotted Skippers here but have not seen a Monarch yet. And I love the t-shirt on that cute little guy:)
ReplyDeleteSue, I loved your recent comment;-) I'm ok, for the most part. I have seen just one monarch this year...and I went to get my camera but of course, it was gone when I went back! I have lots of tiger- and black-swallowtail's here, though. I planted dill, parsley and fennel but so far nothing:-( I check them frequently but no eggs nor caterpillars have appeared. At one point I did see a swallowtail in my yard that looked like it had very recently emerged from it's cocoon, but it wasn't here, that's for sure. I love all the bugs and try to be careful. The only thing that really bugs me are the Japanese Beetles...they just love my agastache. BUT, I'm winning, not them! Anyway, your grandson is very cute indeed! And your garden looks fabulous...really fabulous!
ReplyDeleteSo many delightful critters...Lucky you! I don't know where all of mine are these days. It's been a slow year for butterflies. Not sure why.
ReplyDeleteYour grandson is adorable....gail