The time is right to get a closer look at the plants. Moreover not just for the plants but for the friends that dwell on them!
Stopping at the thistles, I found my first of season Eastern Leaf-footed Bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus)! Actually there were quite a few.
This seemed unusual to find the Convergent Lady Beetle (Hippodamia convergens) stuck on a thistle bristle. Now I wonder who stuck them there.
A Broad-nosed Weevil (Entiminae – tentative) was present on the thistle too.
The Wedge-leaf Euphorbia (Euphorbia longicruris) have sprouted.
Then a closer look revealed the black aphids (Aphididae)! A common name for aphids is Ant Cows because the ants sometimes milk them for their honeydew.
A nice grouping of Prairie Verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida), Cornsalad (Valerianella amarella), and Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa)!
Looking closer, a crab spider with their prey on the Prairie Verbena!
Rabbits Tobacco (Diaperia prolifera) hosts the American Lady caterpillar!
Yep, time to look closer for our small friends!
Interesting just as I read this article (below) yesterday when here they went trotting by our window. 🙁
The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know
8 Comments
If everybody would trap, spay or neuter and release every cat around them it would eliminate the vast majority of feral cats. Sure is a pretty bouquet you found.
I doubt that was a feral cat. The cat populations have exploded here once all the people started moving in. It used to be much rarer to see cats roaming around. 😔
Free roaming neighborhood cats regularly terrorize the wildlife on our property. When I see them, I chase them away. It does little good I’m sure but it makes me feel better.
If everybody would trap, spay or neuter and release every cat around them it would eliminate the vast majority of feral cats. Sure is a pretty bouquet you found.
I doubt that was a feral cat. The cat populations have exploded here once all the people started moving in. It used to be much rarer to see cats roaming around. 😔
O that last pic is so sad – and they grab so much more than birds!
Interesting article on new phylum of bacteria so deep in the soil.
That is a healthy looking coyote! Glad we have our native predators in some places still!
I should not be allowed to identify mammals late at night! That’s a very muscly looking coyote cat. Ooos!!!!
😄😄 look again Claire😉
Free roaming neighborhood cats regularly terrorize the wildlife on our property. When I see them, I chase them away. It does little good I’m sure but it makes me feel better.
I wish cats were regulated like dogs.