cabbage moth in the sunny backyard
Yes, this is exactly how colorful parts of the backyard are right now. And when it's a sunny day it's fun to observe all of the...
Meanwhile, indoors the monarch chrysalises are quietly developing...
We now have had the chrysalises indoors for 5 days now. They are quietly hanging in the mesh hamper in our entrance, exposed to filtered...
Our friends the leaf cutter bees, again
These days I just see a lot of leaf cutter bees in the backyard, enjoying the cosmos flowers. In the image above a leaf cutter bee is...
Ensuring continuous food sources for the pollinators
Sweat bee on a Klondike sulphur orange cosmos blossom Planting native plants in pots in our backyard really is a great example of "if you...
The leaf cutter bees
As I wrote in a post earlier this week, prior to this week, I have never seen so many leaf cutter bees feeding on nectar and collecting...
monarchs are now in chrysalis mode
Just as I thought, the monarch caterpillars were already in their 5th instar when I discovered them last weekend on the milkweed plant....
busy bees in the backyard
Now that the cosmos flowers are blooming, along with a new bloom of the lavender plants, the backyard literally is abuzz with activity....
monarch caterpillars in the backyard!
Two months ago I purchased a small narrow leaf milkweed plant from Annies Annuals https://www.anniesannuals.com/ Every year for the past...
More food for the bees
We now have another buckwheat plant for the backyard, the lovely Eriogonum fasciculatum Warriner Lytle buckwheat. It is said to be an...
Umber skipper's delight
What fun to observe the umber skipper flitting from flower to flower in the backyard. First I saw it sipping on nectar from the orange...
