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Cuckoo Wasp
These tiny iridescent wasps are barely seen but so beautiful up close. My best guess at identification is that this is some type of cuckoo wasp, perhaps… a family of parasitic wasps that lay their...
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Viceroy
Even with the cooler temperatures and overcast skies on Friday, my Mountain Mint was still attracting butterflies. I was happy to see this Viceroy, especially because I only see one or two of them in...
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Autumn Viceroy
Another pretty autumn shot of the viceroy on my mountain mint this weekend.
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Viceroy on Mountain Mint 3
So… another shot of the Viceroy from last week – loved all three of these.
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Meadow Fritillary
Love this butterfly guide to Northern VA butterflies published by our state arboretum. Today I caught a glimpse of a Meadow Fritillary – a tiny fritillary butterfly. I’ve only ever seen one before and...
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Visit to “The Wilds” in Ohio
We just returned from a fantastic Road Trip that took us to destinations from Ohio to Colorado to South Dakota to Minnesota. I’ll post a picture here or there from the scenic parts of the trip starting...
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Monarch Caterpillar Egg
This is a Monarch caterpillar egg just minutes to a few hours before the tiny caterpillar emerged. This image was taken in 2016.
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Zizia
This developing seed head of my zizia aurea (Golden Alexander) in my butterfly garden just felt “artsy” to me.
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Tiny Garden Spider
You know, it’s funny… Every time I’ve ever seen a garden spider in my home garden it’s like this giant yellow spider just suddenly appears out of nowhere. I’ve never noticed them when they are small,...
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Migratory Grasshopper
This is an older picture from September 2018. I’m just now getting around to going through some of my older nature pictures and I don’t think I shared this one. Thank you to an insect identification...
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A bit of quiet in the garden…
I just really liked this image today… Something about the curves and the blur and the way the wings are just peeking out from behind the blossoms just feels peaceful… and quiet… and maybe even a touch...
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THINGS YOU SEE ON MOUNTAIN MINT: Celery Leaftier Moth
I’ve been working on a personal project to keep me busy during the pandemic while I’m at home and not out working so I thought I should share it here on the blog. I’ll start a new category/tag for...
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THINGS YOU SEE ON MOUNTAIN MINT: Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)
This photograph was taken July 22, 2020 and could fit into two personal photography projects – “THINGS YOU SEE ON MOUNTAIN MINT” and my personal photograph collection of the types of “BUTTERFLIES OF...
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THINGS YOU SEE ON MOUNTAIN MINT: Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus)
Asian Tiger Mosquito Aedes albopictus This is an insect I do NOT like… I am a mosquito MAGNET – day and night – even with bug spray… but I learned something today so I figured it might be worth sharing...
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THINGS YOU SEE ON MOUNTAIN MINT: Green-Eyed Wasp (Tachytes)
This wasp caught my eye because of its bright green eyes. I was able to capture quite a few frames as it nectared on the mountain mint. Here’s the wikipedia page about the genus Tachytes. If you’re...
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Happy Accidents! Potter/Mason Wasp in Flight
This photo was a happy accident… I think I was taking pictures of a butterfly that flew away and in the midst of clicking captured this image without even realizing it and I love it! A bee/wasp ID...
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Newly Eclosed Monarch
I’ve been spotting Monarch caterpillars in my butterfly garden since the beginning of the summer. I didn’t see the mama that laid the eggs but have been lucky to have seen caterpillars here and there...
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THING YOU SEE ON MONARDA FISTULOSA: Red Admiral
I’m starting another project… well… really I think I’m starting a new tag/category here on the blog. It’s really motivating to me as a gardener to SEE the results of “If you plant it they will come,”...
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Zebra Swallowtail on Joe Pye Weed!
Yesterday I was super happy to see this Zebra Swallowtail visiting my dwarf Joe Pye Weed. I think it’s the first photo I may have of a zebra on a native plant (albeit a cultivar in the dwarf form I...
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Native Ladybug: Cycloneda munda
A few years ago I did some limited participation in a citizen science project called “The Lost Ladybug Project” out of Cornell University. It asks people to photograph, send in and identify ladybugs...
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THINGS YOU SEE ON MOUNTAIN MINT: Resin Bee
This isn’t a spectacular picture but it is a bee I didn’t yet post in this collection. This was identified as a resin bee – part of the Genus Heriades. It was super tiny. One characteristic of this...
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Yellow Spragueia Moth (Spragueia apicalis)
Next in the line up of “Things you See on Mountain Mint,” the Yellow Spragueia Moth (Spragueia apicalis). Males and females of this species look different so this is a male. This one made me smile...
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Exposed Bird Dropping Moth – Tarache aprica
This is another entry in my “Things you See on Mountain Mint” summer project. I’ve seen two separate individuals of this moth so far this summer and both are pictured here. Both are females.This moth...
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Hawaiian Beet Webworm Moth (Spoladea recurvalis)
I’m not sure if this moth was nectaring or just resting here when I spotted it this morning. Either way, the larvae eat crops such as beets, spinach and swiss chard – three plants that are in the...
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Jagged Ambush Bug
This was an insect I’d never seen before starting this project. There are actually quite a few I’d never seen in terms of individual species but I feel like in general I’d seen a wasp, I’d seen a bee,...
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