Sunday, September 25, 2011

Out and about after the rain

 Here is a hornworm I found on our pepper plant. If not for the frass I would have missed it. For those of you that don't know what frass is, it is droppings.
 Just about any damp or semi damp spot along the county roads here have lots of Wingstem blooming. The bees are using it too. I noticed a week ago or so, the bees bringing in orange pollen. The nearest wingstem to just that I know of is maybe an half mile from here. Something you might not know is that each bee gathers one pollen type usually until the flowers are finished. Other bees might be out there getting pollen from another source, once brought back home they do not mix the pollen.

This bee with orange pollen confirms to me that our orange pollen bees are visiting wingstem right now.


Today I saw lots of these Eastern-tailed Blues, these two posed for me nicely.
This is an wild lobelia that I see every late summer or fall. It was in great light and had a decent background for a change.


This is Gerardia it looked really really good the rain has revived it. I saw lots of it, yet found no Common Buckeye caterpillars on it. Usually in late summer you can easily find caterpillars.

This is my favorite spider it is an Marbled Orb Weaver. Very secretive and weaves a beautiful web. If you ever find one building its web it is fascinating!
This spider on the other hand is the villain of all spiders. I have seen this one with more rare butterflies in its clutches than I care to recall. It is a Green Lynx Spider, my first this year.

21 comments:

greggo said...

great photos. very interesting.

Nature Rambles said...

Wonderful pictures, Randy! I love your spider shots...both kinds/colours not commonly seen around here.

Unknown said...

Beautiful shots Randy.

I just arrived back in NC. It's nice to be back again.

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

Wow, all your photos pop! Love them.

Kelly said...

...whoa! You've got a Creature Feature going on here--very cool. I've never seen a Green Lynx Spider! The "eyes" on the hornworm are so cool...

Indie said...

Great pictures! I just saw my first Orb Weaver spider the other day. I'm so glad to have seen this post because I was wondering what kind of spider it was. It was quite large, and it had a very impressive web!

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Randy! You have some winning photos here. I love them all, but I have a soft spot for the insects! The hornworm is wonderful, but your spiders are some I'll probably never see in person. :-)

I found an unusual little fellow the other day. He was In My Car(!) and found himself on a piece of paper and then the driveway as soon as I could work it out. I did get a good photo... hopefully I post it before long!

Rumor: RAIN tonight and tomorrow!!!

L. Ambler said...

Great photos as always. I liked the Wingstem and Gerardia. Good pics of the hornworm and spiders, although they are not my favorite creatures.

Ginny said...

I was introduced to the hornworm last summer when I found one on an ornamental pepper. It was making quick work of devouring it.
Fantastic photos!

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

9 times out of 10 the only way I know there is a hornworm is the frass. Great photo of the hornworm...it looks like there are eyes on its side.
I like the blue lobelia...I found some more in the edges of our woods.
Super spider photos.

Fairegarden said...

Beautiful shots, Randy. I am sad to hear that spider is a baddie, we have lots of those here. Fly butterflies, fly away from her clutches!

Bridget said...

Great pics! Especially like the hornworm, fascinating. We don't have those in Ireland.

Carol said...

What great photographs Randy! Those spiders are beautiful but creepy! I have always been intrigued by the different colors of pollen that bees carry. I did not know that certain bees harvest a particular kind of pollen however. Very interesting! Your hornworm photo is fabulous . . . I am always thankful for frass in leading us to these critters.

Skeeter said...

Your photography makes insects look so beautiful! I dont recall ever seeing a Green Spider before but will be on the look out for them now. All the Garden Spiders are hiding from me now but expected after so much falling rain on them in 3 days time...

Victoria Williams said...

Good god, beautiful photos, as usual!

Hey Randy, just how much is honey processed before we buy it in the store? I suppose that all depends?

Mel said...

Beautiful shots! Funny, I posted a photo of a hornworm in my jalapenos too! I thought they preferred tomatoes, but mine had black spots on them and must not have been tasty. I have a bumper crop of jalapenos, so I let it eat all it wanted.

tina said...

Very cool and thanks on the id of the wingstem. I was wondering what it was.

Andrea said...

Randy, whenever i see your photos i always wish to have some of your lenses to also get our critters which also are as nice. Those spiders are very beautiful, however maybe i haven't seen it yet here. Your hornworm is so cute and stout, if i don't know them i will think they are so very big and scary. Will they become moth or butterflies?

John said...

Oh, so many great pictures. I had to smile at the comment about great lenses. I have the same lenses. It takes incredible patience and skill to get those shots — not just great lenses. Love the two spider pictures. Those are really colorful critters.

Q said...

Wonderful Tailed Blues....
They did pose, open wing! Nice...
wonderful spiders too.
Save our bees is right!
Organic for the bees, the birds, the butterflies and the people!
Sherry

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