The Long Hot Summer (Yeehaw!)

Every July about this time I find myself thankful for the heat of summer. Steam and heat aside, this is a great time to be in the yard. Our wildlife garden is almost at full peak, producing flowers and leafy shelter that attract the pollinators and the rest of the food web that I garden to provide habitat for. The swamp sunflowers in the front yard have grown tall, giving a quiet place for a baby deer to sleep while mom is out looking for food. The bushy Muhly grass, Mountain Mint and Black-eyed Susans are a refuge for fireflies that emerge in the evening. Tiny spiderlings set up their webs, hidden in the thickening greenery, where they hunt for prey that increases in size as they do. Caterpillars silently munch on plant parts, leaving specks of frass and chewed up leaves in their wake. Thrashers and Towhees scurry through the flower beds, grabbing caterpillars and spiders as they forage for spilled seed from the feeders. Mature vines and tube-shaped flowers are food for the hummingbirds. By July, at least one brood of newbies are out foraging for themselves. They visit the sugar water feeders, but they also spend a lot of time sucking out of flowers, especially the ones with long stems that they can sit on and rest between hovering and being chased off by older birds. Hovering is tiring.

This time of year, my glasses and camera lenses that are cool from the indoor A/C fog up immediately upon stepping out of the house or from a cool car. I can wipe the glasses, but have to wait for the camera to warm up because merely wiping the external glass is not enough. The camera will keep fogging up until the temperature has equalized. I've learned to keep my camera case in the back of the car, away from the A/C when I'm driving somewhere to take photos. I also take the camera out of its case right away when I get outside so it can start warming up, and sometimes face the glass into the sun to quick-start the process. 

Today I went out into the back yard just as it started to get hot, around 10am. The plan was to photograph some bees. My camera was cold, so I needed to give it time to acclimate, and so I walked over to one of the Black-eyed Susan patches in the yard to see what insects might be flying around. Before I knew it, an hour had passed and I had taken dozens of photos just with my phone. It's quickly becoming my go-to camera. They say that the best camera is the one you have with you. This one takes decent enough photos, and doesn't fog up! I never did pull out the other camera.

But the reason I spent an hour in the flower patch was that there was so much going on just on this single species of flower that I couldn't stop searching for more. As the morning warmed and the sun moved higher and brighter, the insects became more active, and new ones showed up. Butterflies, for example, were late arrivals. It was great fun and I had forgotten from last year just how much I love spending time crawling around in the flowers. I couldn't help but think that if there is this much life in a small flower patch, just imagine a prairie or a forest or a jungle. And this was just what I could see with my naked eye. So exciting--hello summer! 

Here are some images from my morning in the Rudbeckia as I waited for my other camera to thaw. 

Ant

Caterpillar

Sleepy Scoliid Wasp

Sleepy Leaf-cutter Bee

Leafhopper

Tiny Wasps

Planthopper Nymph

Some sort of Nectar Feeding Fly

Lacewing Egg (circled)

Ladybeetle

Carpenter-mimic Leafcutter Bee

Assassin Bug

Crab Spider

Stink Bug Nymphs

Red Cocklebur Weevil. They feed  "primarily on Asteraceae species, including sunflowers, ragweed, thistle, cocklebur, joe-pye weed, ironweed, and rosinweed"

Green Lynx Spider

Honey Bee

Not sure!

Small Leaf Cutter Bee

Fiery Skipper

My Wonderful Garbage

 

Delicate Pink Worm Strings

Feeding the Worms

by Danusha Laméris

Ever since I found that earth worms have taste buds

all over the delicate pink strings of their bodies, 

I pause dropping apple peels into the compost bin, imagine

the dark, writhing ecstasy, the sweetness of apples

permeating their pores. I offer beets and parsley,

avocado, and melon, the feathery tops of carrots.

I'd always thought theirs a menial life, eyeless and hidden,

almost vulgar--though now, it seems, they bear a pleasure 

so sublime, so decadent, I want to contribute however I can,

forgetting, a moment, my place on the menu.

I'll admit it right now. I'm a pretty lazy composter. We have a bin in the backyard, and have for years. But I don't do much to help it along. And I haven't pulled any finished compost out of the door at the bottom since I set it up in 2015. I don't crush my eggshells, and I never peel off the plastic tags from the produce. I have a special tool for stirring up and turning the compost, but I forget about it for months or years. We used to have 2 bins, before we moved, but only kept one to save space. And since I set it up, oh so many years ago,  I have done precious little besides pouring in the kitchen scraps and tossing in the occasional armful of dry fall leaves when it gets too wet. I could feel guilty about my shortcomings, but I don't. It's compost. And lucky for me, the compost bin basically runs itself.

The Bin

About 2 1/2 months ago, the compost bin was getting close to overflowing. We had some painters coming to work around the house and I was self-conscious about the strong smell of coffee grounds and orange peels that would waft off the top of the un-turnable pile for a few days after dumping, right next to their work area. I knew it was time to empty it out, and even move it to a new and better place. But I was not in the mood to do that. Besides everything else, a large contingent of winged ants had amassed on the outside of the bin, preparing for mating flights. They were there for days. This wasn't a good time to dig in. So I just stopped using the bin for a while. It felt strange putting all the kitchen trimmings in the trash, after making a habit of saving scraps for composting. Our trash bags were suddenly wet and smelly, and the outdoor garbage bin filled faster. 

Inside the bin: Stickers, shells, avocado pits. Note large ant pile of humus on lower left.
(I took out the stick--don't know what that was doing there)

One day, about 6 weeks later (painting took a long time), I got curious and opened the lid of the bin. To my amazement, the pile had sunk a good 6 inches. It smelled gorgeous--fresh and earthy. A large colony of ants had settled in and had fluffed up a pile of the rich, dark humus--the result of the composted plant matter. It turns out that ants do a lot of work in a compost bin, turning over the detritus and bringing in fungus and bacteria that help break everything down. I read that turning the pile can deter them. Good thing I never maintain my compost bin! (Little joke.)

Tiny flies and spider webs

Special Spider Habitat in an Eggshell

Potato Bugs

Roaches Dive for Cover

Earwig Among the Ants (I don't know if this is a peaceful encounter)

As I examined the shrunken heap, I was fascinated to see the many arthropod inhabitants. I saw tiny flies and flying insects on the walls, and figured that they must eventually end up as food for the dozens of spiders who had each inhabited her own eggshell. Potato bugs (or roly-polys or pill bugs) scurried out of sight when I lifted the lid, as did the numerous, large cockroaches and earwigs--the detritus eating A-Team! Sometimes when I opened the lid, a lucky fly would land on the decaying produce (or maybe they were unlucky if they got shut in and eaten by the spiders). 

Free Range Spider

Fly on the Ant Mound

False Blister Beetle Seems Out of Place Here--Usually Found on Flowers

Egg Casings--not sure species

Green Bottle Fly

Checking on the goings on in the compost bin has become my latest hobby. I find something new every time I look. I enjoy quickly lifting the lid to see if anything surprising is happening in the darkness. The sunlight and my movement causes quick dives for cover. Many of my photos of the scurriers are blurry or partial because of that mad dash for shelter! This week when I looked, I noticed a new, larger species of ant patrolling the rim of the bin. I don't know my ants well, so I can't be sure they were not just the soldiers of the ones I'd seen before, but it would not surprise me to know that there were several species living inside. I also found large clusters of ants tending eggs. Some had even taken over the egg shells that had previously been occupied by spiders. 

Ants, Eggs and Larvae in an Onion

Ants Have Evicted the Spider

I guess the point of this all is that there is wonder to be found everywhere, if you just look. Even in the compost. After seeing the multiverse that exists in my compost pile, I feel a bit hesitant to move it or stir it up, because it's so marvelous. But I also know that my garden can always use some nice rich soil, and I'm tired of throwing away all those valuable veggie scraps. And the worms and ants and spiders and roaches will all get back to work again about as fast as I can set up the bin in the new location. They're self starters. 

Fresh, Sweet Humus, with some Cantaloupe Seeds Tossed in for Fun

 

Happy Pollinator Week!

I've talked about this in prior posts, but when I moved away from Florida 2 years ago, one of my priorities for getting settled in the new house was to recreate our native plant/butterfly/bird/pollinator garden. It took me 10 years to get the old garden the way I wanted it and I didn't want to wait that long to get one going in Georgia, so we hired a native plant landscaper to prepare the soil, pick the appropriate plants and plant everything. It took a while to find the right location and then to get the project started, but after we had to remove a big water oak in the front yard, this created a big, open, sunny spot, perfect for garden needs.

The yard when we bought the house--trim grass and dying tree

First plantings last June

Finally, last June, the first plants went in. Over the following months, we added more plants as they came available or when it was the right time to plant. And at last, 2 years after moving here, we have everything planted and the garden has had time to establish and we are enjoying the full effect of our new urban nature habitat. It has been so fun! I don't have as much experience with native plants here as I did in Florida, so when the landscaper, Jeremy, suggested something, I looked at the photos and trusted his judgement. This has led to some fun surprises. I never grew Echinacea successfully in Florida, but it thrives here, growing taller than I've ever seen. The Joe Pye Weed was popular with the pollinators last summer, but after a year in the ground, it is gigantic and I can only dream about the butterfly photos I will be able to shoot this year. And the Nodding Onions have been a delight. Then there is the Mountain Mint (Picnanthemum pilosum) hedge along the front of the yard. When Jeremy first suggested it, I was intrigued, but I didn't have much experience with the plant other than with the Florida version I learned about in a roadside wildflower class. But he insisted that I would love how it attracted pollinators of all kinds with its numerous tiny flowers, so I said yes. The plants went in the ground in December and sat low and dormant for months. My husband and I were so curious about how this would turn out. But suddenly when the weather got warmer and the summer rains started, the Mountain Mint shot up and bushed out. About a month ago the first flowers opened, and now we have a buzzing smorgasbord for pollinators and we are thrilled.

Happy Garden

Mountain Mint Hedge

Anyway, that is a long introduction into the little project I did this weekend. In honor of National Pollinator Week, and in fond memory of the people who studied the pollinators in our old yard, I spent a couple of hours and took photos of different insects that I found feeding in the Mountain Mint, just to demonstrate how diverse the population of pollinators in my neighborhood is, and what a difference a pollinator friendly plant can make. We all are aware of the plight of pollinators that we depend on in order for our crops to grow, and yet are constantly in danger due to our use of agricultural chemicals and loss of habitat. If more people planted pollinator gardens and built bee houses for the solitary native bees, it could make a huge difference. Some people are afraid of having bees and wasps around, but really they pose no danger if you leave them alone. I work all the time in the garden next to flowers and bees and climb in close for photos, but the insects don't care at all about my presence, other than to fly away if they feel threatened. We love having so much life in our yard and it just feels good to be providing a much needed habitat.

Here is my "guest book" of the insects I found in the hedge last night and today. I was hoping to see a Firefly, but they were hiding. They have been abundant in the yard this summer, no doubt thanks to the healthy habitat. I saw no spiders or dragonflies either, but I imagine they will make their way to where the food is. The birds have already caught on and I see them scurry in and out of the bushes, chasing bugs and digging for grubs. There are a lot of photos because these plants are indeed popular! But that is the point of this exercise. I am not an expert on bees, flies and wasps, so I can only identify a few. If you can help me out, please feel free to comment. And a Happy Pollinator Week to us all!

Bee, possibly a Leaf Cutter

Leaf Hopper

Tachinid Fly

Furry Bee

Ailanthus Webworm Moth

Green Bottle Fly

Pale Green Assassin Bug Nymph 

This may be a Stink Bug Nymph. 

Small Parasitic Tachinid Fly. They lay their eggs on stinkbugs.

Camouflaged Looper caterpillar that has covered itself with dead Mountain Mint blossoms

Leaf Cutter Cuckoo Bee

Small Wasp

Predatory Stink Bug

Fiery Skipper

Scoliid Wasp

Thick-headed Fly, Wasp Fly

Another Scoliid Wasp

Fly

Mud Dauber Wasp

Honey Bee

Leaf Cutter Bee

Red-banded Hairstreak

Asian Lady Beetle

Bee, possibly a Leaf Cutter

Tachinid Fly

Great Black Wasp

Half-black Bumblebee

Flower Bee covered with pollen

Possibly another Scoliid Wasp  Reader Correction: Probably a Sand Wasp. Thank you!

Gray Hairstreak

Bee with very furry front legs

Carpenter Bee all covered with pollen

Great Golden Digger Wasp

First Monarch Butterfly of the year! (to left of sign)