Who is in the garden?

The garden is now in autumn phase, most of the native plants preparing for winter sleep, but some, including all of the buckwheat, island mallows, gumplants and Verbena de la Mina are still blooming.

This means that we still have quite a lot of insect, pollinator, and bird activity in the garden.

Monarch butterflies are regularly visiting, as well as Gulf fritillaries, Orange sulphur butterflies, Anise Swallowtails and various kinds of skippers.

The above image is of a Variegated meadowhawk dragonfly resting on a Blue elderberry branch.

The dragonfly blends in so well on that branch.

Currently the kinds of bees in the garden observed are mostly cuckoo bees, such as the one in the above photo sipping from a Pacific aster, different kinds of wasps, honey bees, and the occasional Yellow-faced bumble bee.

Here, a Yellow-faced bumble bee is getting nectar from a blossom on one of our Island mallow shrubs.

To get the nectar the bee is biting into the base of the blossom.

The Common Checkered Skipper here is sipping on the nectar of a gumplant flower.

The Blue Eyed darner here blends in well on a dried branch.

This is the first one that I've seen in our garden in several months.

A photo of a section of our garden, in all of its autumn splendor.

From left to right, Seacliff buckwheat, California poppy, nude buckwheat California sagebrush, California buckwheat, and Gumplant.