Late Season Stars
Change is definitely in the air as we transition to autumn. The male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have begun their southward migration, leaving their fledglings to spar over the feeders. Late season plants, like goldenrod, sunflowers, asters, fleabane and hawkweed, create a beautiful palette on our back slope.
Monarch caterpillars have been hard to find this summer, but for a few days this week this beauty chomped on a Common Milkweed at the bottom of our back slope.
But once again, what truly awed me this week was discovering another fantastic moth.
Early one morning, I spotted a dark moth with some white patches resembling ears. It seemed unremarkable but I took a picture just in case. The digital image stunned me – it didn’t even look like a moth! It’s like a tiny Viking warrior wearing a feathered cape and headdress. Wouldn’t this be a great Halloween costume? Who knew such a creature existed, much less could be found clinging to our window screen? Where did it come from? iNaturalist reveals it is a Larch Tolype Moth, and Larch, or Tamarack, is a host plant for these moths. It likely came from the one we planted in our garden three years ago. It’s thriving, its blue-green needles are stunning in sunlight, and it hosts a multitude of birds and pollinators. Such is the joy of a native garden!
Another strange looking but much more common moth, the Milkweed Tussock Moth, also caught my attention. I can’t figure out which end is which on these bizarre, toothbrush-like caterpillars. Their wild colors help them survive by looking poisonous to predators. Sometimes hundreds of them can be found in a single patch of milkweed!
The wildflower seeds we sowed on our front slope are finally filling in (to Kathy’s great relief). The Partridge Pea (below left) is getting all the attention from Two-spotted Bumble Bees because of their nectar filled tubular flowers. A Great Black Digger Wasp (below right) pollinates the late-blooming Clethra.
Seeds and berries are signs of late summer, and they wouldn’t grow if the bees, butterflies, moths, beetles and wasps hadn’t been collecting and transferring pollen all summer. Unfortunately loss of habitat and pesticides have caused dramatic declines in insect populations, especially in urban and suburban areas. Healthy habitat and diversity of insects still exists here in the Valley. Gardening with native plants helps to keep it that way by making sure different types of insect pollinators are finding the plants they need. Below are pictures of Butterfly Milkweed seed pods and the fruit of the Winterberry (top right) and Chokeberry (bottom right).
Evening rain and morning sun creates beautiful, glistening areas on plants. Here is a spider web creating a cage around a Balsam fir (bottom right), and a shining New England Aster (bottom left) getting ready to open for some autumn color.
