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Monarch Monday
Surprisingly, this female was laying eggs on Common Milkweed on Sept 28th. On my two Bugging Out walks that weekend, I saw at least two dozen adult Monarchs.
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Carnivores
Papa Kestrel atop the Old Chapel has some wasp attendents. I didn’t notice these while photographing. Is there a nest up there, or are these wasps on mating flights?
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Wasps as Pollinators
They are not as hairy as most bees, but wasps can also pick up and transport pollen when they’re feeding on nectar. This Northern Paper Wasp/Polistes fuscatus on goldenrods flowers is a case in point.
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Low Tide on the Gowanus
Mud Fiddler Crabs/Minuca pugnax in the toxic muck of the canal. From the 3rd St Bridge. Definitely not your dad’s canal; it’s seen massive development since I used to regularly walk across it in the 2010s. It’s now a hurricane away from one hell of a big mess, though.
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Feeling Gallish?
A gall is a plant growth induced by an alien species. In the case of oak galls, the majority are forced by tiny Cynipid wasps. This is one of my favorites: Kokkocynips rileyi, on Scarlet Oak/Q. coccinea. (This particular gall has a kapello or cap that attracts ants once the galls falls to the ground;…
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Two Plant Details
Fruit of the Paper Mulberry/Broussonetia papyrifera, which usually looks like a spoiled strawberry by the time it hits the ground. Seed of Japanese Hops/Humulus scandens.
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Backyard and Beyond 