JBtheExplorer
Native Gardener
It's one of those days where there is so much life in my garden. One thing after another! Non-stop activity. I had to make a post about it. Almost all of this was taken within about ten minutes of each other. All of this was taken in the garden around my pond. I never even got out to my main native garden today.
First, I saw this Red-spotted Purple butterfly. It arrived yesterday and has been hanging out in the area ever since. I wasn't too happy with the photo I got of it yesterday, so I went over to it to get something better today. I still think they should be called Orange-spotted Blues.
While doing that, I saw a Carder bee resting on a leaf. I'm not too familiar with these, but they've been very common in my garden this year. They love Blue Giant Hyssop. The problem is, they chase other pollinators away. I frequently see them try to chase Monarchs away.
Right after that photo, I saw a Monarch resting on my Cardinal Flower, but before I could get a photo, a Hummingbird flew in and the Monarch flew away. I don't often get hummingbird photos, and I've been wanting to photograph them drinking from my Cardinal Flowers all summer.
The hummingbird left the Cardinal flower and flew to my Meadow Blazing Star for just a few seconds, which is what made me notice this Snowberry clearwing moth. I don't see these very often, so it was great to be able to photograph it. I photographed and watched it for about five minutes.
After that, I decided to photograph a Monarch. This time of year, they can almost always be found on my Mexican Sunflowers, and there were at least four or five there today. It makes me sad to think they'll soon all be gone and headed to Mexico for the winter.
Not long after, I found this pair mating and had to get a photo before going inside.
First, I saw this Red-spotted Purple butterfly. It arrived yesterday and has been hanging out in the area ever since. I wasn't too happy with the photo I got of it yesterday, so I went over to it to get something better today. I still think they should be called Orange-spotted Blues.
While doing that, I saw a Carder bee resting on a leaf. I'm not too familiar with these, but they've been very common in my garden this year. They love Blue Giant Hyssop. The problem is, they chase other pollinators away. I frequently see them try to chase Monarchs away.
Right after that photo, I saw a Monarch resting on my Cardinal Flower, but before I could get a photo, a Hummingbird flew in and the Monarch flew away. I don't often get hummingbird photos, and I've been wanting to photograph them drinking from my Cardinal Flowers all summer.
The hummingbird left the Cardinal flower and flew to my Meadow Blazing Star for just a few seconds, which is what made me notice this Snowberry clearwing moth. I don't see these very often, so it was great to be able to photograph it. I photographed and watched it for about five minutes.
After that, I decided to photograph a Monarch. This time of year, they can almost always be found on my Mexican Sunflowers, and there were at least four or five there today. It makes me sad to think they'll soon all be gone and headed to Mexico for the winter.
Not long after, I found this pair mating and had to get a photo before going inside.
