Pollinators in the Garden
In celebration of National Pollinator Week, please share some photos of pollinators in your garden. And be sure to check out NPW's Pollinator Week Toolkit.
Bumblebee visiting Monarda bradburiana
Comments (223)
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HAVE: Paying it Forward--Pick Ten
Comments (21)Posted by seedmoney 8A (seedmoney@embarqmail.com) on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 15:45 This offer is now closed. Tip...when responding to any seed trade or 'offer' it is a good idea to scan through the posts in the thread to see if the OP (Original Poster) has updated, changed, or closed the offer...as in this case....See Morepreventing spontaneous 'self-cross-pollination'
Comments (2)In hot areas a plastic bag can heat the flower beyond the pollen receptive or development temperatures. It only takes an hour or so for the pollen to grow tubes & do its job but if you keep the flower covered all day that could be a problem. You can also just place a cap of aluminum foil over the pistil. Roll a bit of foil around a toothpick, slide it over the pistil. If it is for protecting your own crosses remove the stamens and some people even say remove the flower's petals to keep pollinating insects away. You only need a pistil & ovary for the flower to produce seed. Sometimes ants can be the culprit. If they are in your daylilies you can put a ring of petrolium jelly around the base of the scape to keep them from climbing it....See MoreInvite Pollinators to Your Garden
Comments (3)From the name of this article, I thought it was another calling from Mrs. Taryn Evans, who has been a 'local' crusader for native pollinators. But while this article talked about providing pollen sources and not disturbing homes, it fell short of mentioning providing homes for the natives, aka Bee Houses. I first heard... er... read about Bee Houses while flipping through a publication from the Wildlife Habitat Council/Audubon Society and then shortly after heard about Mrs. Evans giving a 'class' on these Bee Houses, which she builds and sells, at a local FNPS chapter meeting... which I missed. There are a few websites with general guidelines on building Bee Houses to not only 'invite' the native pollinators, but encourage them to stick around. Here is a link that might be useful: Building Your Own Bee House...See MorePlant ID: Returning Pollinator Perennials at Community Garden or Weeds
Comments (7)The photos 6 & 8 both look like butterfly weed, a milkweed with orange or yellow flowers. I agree with floral on all three of her IDs, but want to correct what might be misunderstood. The second photo with rue has a Salvia that looks like culinary sage, but I don’t think that the photos after the number 2 are Salvia. Some general suggestions for posts on this forum: take a photo from the side as well as above if at all possible. only put three or fewer photos per post so we don’t have to keep scrolling up and down between the photos and the comments. You will likely get more responses that way....See Morearbordave (SE MI)
25 days agoforever - great photos! Your "bee or ant" on the chives is one of the thread-waisted wasps, possibly the genus Eremnophila. Your 4th chives photo is a small skipper, but I'm not sure which species. The "hummingbird moth" in your recent post looks like a Common Looper Moth, which reminded me of the one below (probably a Celery Looper Moth) that I saw almost exactly one year ago (8/29/21) resting on a Winter Red holly leaf
A couple photos from today (8/31/22). A Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee on Joe-Pye Weed
and an Ailanthus webworm moth on goldenrod
forever_a_newbie_VA8
23 days agolast modified: 23 days agoI thought this was a hummingbird moth. Thanks beng for pointing out it is a sphinx moth or hawk moth.
It also has very long thin mouth
It is not as fast as the common looper moth and much bigger
It loves the blue plumbago and appears early morning
arbordave (SE MI) thanked forever_a_newbie_VA8
bengz6westmd
23 days agolast modified: 23 days agoforever, great catch, a sphinx moth. But certainly acts/flies like a hummingbird.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=sphinx+moth&t=ffab&atb=v252-1&ia=web
Pic of little moth on VA Mnt mint, but noticed it was pinned. A even smaller ambush bug has caught it and dining on it from underneath. It's a bug-eat-bug world.......
arbordave (SE MI) thanked bengz6westmdforever_a_newbie_VA8
23 days agolast modified: 23 days agoarbordave (SE MI) thanked forever_a_newbie_VA8arbordave (SE MI)
21 days agolast modified: 21 days agoSunny and very warm yesterday - would've been a great day to observe pollinators - but I was on the road. I did notice a few migrating Monarchs crossing the highways. Today it's cloudy and quite cool with light sprinkles - haven't seen a single butterfly so far. The Heptacodium flowers are finally opening up, and they always attract plenty of bees. Also uncovered a couple hidden Spicebush ST caterpillars in sassafras leaves that were folded over - the smaller one had just crawled out of its skin (all photos 9/4/22)
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
21 days agoOne would think today was Labor Day on the Goldenrod.
On the left, a bee landing, on the right, a wasp.
tj
arbordave (SE MI) thanked tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱arbordave (SE MI)
20 days agoA fair number of migrating Monarchs stopping in the backyard today despite mostly cloudy skies and below average temps (9/5/22)
peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
17 days agoBees and butterflies are still quite active.
Bees love Helianthus Lemon Queen
Allium tuberosum - garlic chives are a huge draw. About half flew off before I got the pic.
Sedum Vera Jameson was popular yesterday.
Clouded Sulphur I believe.
Bee & Monarch sharing E. Baby Joe
Very popular spot.
arbordave (SE MI) thanked peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canadaperen.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
17 days agoA few more.
Vernonia - Ironweed is a magnet.
Monarch cat on Asclepias incarnata
arbordave (SE MI) thanked peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canadaarbordave (SE MI)
17 days agoperen.all - looks like you have good numbers of Monarchs - we're probably getting close to peak migration at our latitude (table from monarchwatch.org):
A Viceroy was on the Heptacodium yesterday (9/7/22)
A duskywing (possibly a Wild Indigo Duskywing) on aster today (9/8/22)
There was also someone waiting for a few pollinators to show up on goldenrod today
forever_a_newbie_VA8
16 days ago- arbordave (SE MI) thanked tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
arbordave (SE MI) thanked indianagardengirlarbordave (SE MI)
15 days agoSunny and warm today (9-10-22), very dry weather recently - we could really use some rain. Lots of honeybees visiting the Heptacodium (as well as a few hummingbirds)
A bumblebee was on the white snakeroot that I just planted last year
There was also an American Copper on the Heptacodium earlier this evening
arbordave (SE MI) thanked djacob Z5b SE WI
BillMN-z-2-3-4
11 days agolast modified: 11 days agoHummmmmmmmmmm..........
He was only ~8ft. away but thought it best to quick get a shot without trying to zoom in or get closer. I think he was enamored by the bright red. :^)
arbordave (SE MI) thanked BillMN-z-2-3-4forever_a_newbie_VA8
11 days agolast modified: 9 days agoBill, great catch. you are right no time for zooming or focusing. Just have to trust your luck! Your bird houses are very beautiful
I also caught one.
A lot of Monarchs and they often come in pair
I knew it was alive but could not help. It let me touch with finger, but then flew away.
I just learnt this is a hoverfly, a great pollinator and garden friend
An orange/yellow sulphur?
Fiery skipper male (thanks arbordave)
Female
Happy gardening!
arbordave (SE MI) thanked forever_a_newbie_VA8bengz6westmd
10 days agoNot a plant you'd expect in a pollinator post, but it's abuzz w/honeybees. Unfortunately they're all above this low branch, but I show the flowers. Guess what the plant is.....
arbordave (SE MI) thanked bengz6westmdarbordave (SE MI)
10 days agolast modified: 10 days agobeng - We've planted a fair number of those trees - I'll have to check to see if ours are currently flowering. I'll let someone else ID it for us.
I think I've got an ID on forever's skipper: Fiery Skipper - the 1st is probably a male, the 2nd a female.
A Red Admiral was visiting the Heptacodium yesterday and today (photo 9/15/22)
This guy was doing its best to look like a stick. Probably a Large Maple Spanworm caterpillar (on Koelreuteria). I believe the adult moth flies at night and probably visits flowers.
forever_a_newbie_VA8
10 days agolast modified: 10 days agoarbordave (SE MI) thanked forever_a_newbie_VA8
L Clark (zone 4 WY)
10 days agolast modified: 10 days agoarbordave (SE MI) thanked L Clark (zone 4 WY)forever_a_newbie_VA8
9 days agoYeah sedum season is here, and they already have visitors.
Thread-waisted wasp
Don’t we wish to have a waist like that?
carpenter bee
Grey hairstreak
This one is paler
I saw a very beautiful butterfly with blue body not seen before. It is too high for me to take a good photo
arbordave (SE MI) thanked forever_a_newbie_VA8arbordave (SE MI)
9 days agolast modified: 9 days agobeng - I checked a couple of our Allee Elms today, and they were already done flowering, so no pollinators around. We refer to the species as "Lacebark Elm" to avoid confusion since "Chinese Elm" is sometimes used for Siberian Elm.
forever - again, great photos. Not sure what the blue bodied butterfly would be, maybe you'll see it again and get another pic.
Several migrating monarchs were on the Heptacodium this evening (9/16/22)
Some kind of fly was moving from flower to flower in the jewelweed, crawling right inside each one it visited. Small yellow jackets(?) were also working the flowers
(Bumblebees and hummingbirds also love the jewelweed)
arbordave (SE MI)
8 days agoDon't have an ID on this one, possibly a digger bee in the genus Anthophora(?). A couple of them were zipping around a clump of mint this morning (9/17/22), hovering frequently, only landing on the flowers briefly.
Migrating monarchs (and hummingbirds) were again active around the Heptacodiums today
arbordave (SE MI)
8 days agoarbordave (SE MI)
7 days ago@ruth_mi - Thanks for the kind comment. It's my hope that this discussion helps bring attention to the wide variety of interesting and beneficial pollinators that are out there, while also highlighting some of the plants that are especially attractive to them.
I spent some time today observing a large patch of small white native asters which I believe are Panicled Asters (Symphyotrichum lanceolatum). I haven’t paid much attention to them before (they’re kind of weedy in my backyard) but there was a flurry of pollinator activity around them with the warm weather this afternoon (9/18/22). Lots of yellow jackets, as well as other wasps, bees, and flies. Here’s a partial photo inventory
peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
6 days agoYes Dave such a great thread. Hopefully this has made more people aware and appreciative of pollinators & the plants that help them.
p.s. It was difficult to know if it was the same pair of monarchs flitting about in my earlier post. Butterfly numbers were still low this year. Happy to see so many elsewhere.
Fly? on Chelone
It is so fun watching bees get into Chelone (Turtlehead) flowers.
I think this is a very tattered discolored TS.
Orange Sulphur on Joe Pye.
This will be my last hummingbird sighting this year. They stayed late into almost mid Sept. They are usually gone by the end of Aug.
arbordave (SE MI) thanked peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canadaforever_a_newbie_VA8
4 days agolast modified: 4 days agoPalamedes Swallowtail. Thanks arbordave for the id. A new butterfly for me
From this angle it looks a little like a black Swallowtail
Flying like a bird
However this poor ST(maybe a tiger) is caught by a yellow garden spider
Thanks beng for pointing out following is a katydid that is herbivore rather than a predator on the pollinator.
A busy garden today!
arbordave (SE MI) thanked forever_a_newbie_VA8arbordave (SE MI)
4 days agoforever_a_newbie_VA8
4 days agolast modified: 4 days agoarbordave: I think you are right! lt is not a black ST. it looks similar to a Palamedes Swallowtail I saw online
Another photo from different angle
A new butterfly for me! Thank you so much.
arbordave (SE MI) thanked forever_a_newbie_VA8arbordave (SE MI)
4 days agoSome photos from the last few days. The warm weather is keeping the pollinators active.
Honey bee on Maximilian sunflower 9/19/22
A small blue carpenter bee (Ceratina?) crawling up & down the sunflower's stem 9/19/22
Lots of bee activity on the fall asters 9/20/22
A bicolored striped sweat bee visiting a mallow flower 9/20/22
An unknown fly (bee fly?) on a Shasta daisy 9/21/22
A few migrating Monarchs were on the butterfly bushes and Heptacodium this evening 9/21/22
indianagardengirl