Milkweed Bee
The bees love the milkweed! Whether it is bumble, honey, metallic or otherwise, these buzzy pollinators have been all over the Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) lately. There are finally a lot more butterflies out and about, nectaring frequently on delicious, chemical-free and native pollinator plants. I will show you more of what we have all seen lately all month long. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreGreat Spangled Fritillary & Eastern Purple Coneflower
I am finally seeing more butterfly abundance and diversity as we enter July, and I could not be happier about that! I photographed this appropriately named Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) nectaring on a fresh Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) during the morning of Independence Day. These pollinator plants are gorgeous and great for attracting beneficial insects to your yard. On Sunday, July 3, I was thrilled to finally see my first of the year Monarch butterflies. What species have you spotted recently? Have you planted anything in your garden to help pollinators...
Read MoreRuby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) & Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Here’s a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) feeding on some Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser. Photographed for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Connecticut while on assignment for The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreRuby-throated Hummingbird
I photographed this hummingbird feeding on some crabapple flowers on the “best” day of Ruby-throated Hummingbird migration earlier this May. Obviously this is a female/immature type without that ruby throat, but it was a delight to see it fueling up in the midst of a certainly epic journey. This individual likely crossed the entire Gulf of Mexico as most of the species does…I mean, how can you even begin to process that? Unreal. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreCabbage White
The Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) is a non-native “pest” butterfly species, and here you can see it is feeding on a Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), a non-native weed…but you know what, the ship has sailed on trying to solve that problem. I realize that is easy for me to say because I am not employed in agriculture. However, we are not going to wake up tomorrow and eliminate these species from North America. Even if we were to try it would be terribly harmful, and in the case of the dandelion we would be pumping even more toxic chemicals into our environment – as...
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