flowers
-
Orange Pollen
Little flower, big bee. Long tongue into the nectar, anther against the forehead. This Lamium isn’t letting the bee leave town without some pollen. But wait just a minute. This bee has a white face. The only white-faced bee I know is the male Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica), but this one was rather too…
-
Violets
1. 2. 3. Three varieties or species of Viola here, in flower-size order, smallest to largest.
-
Blooming Now
Red maple. Wych elm. Apple. Cherry. Star magnolia. Ginkgo. Henbit deadnettle. (These are tiny, you’ll need to get down on your knees to see the detail.)
-
-
Cactus Pose
So, while a nation slept… the Opuntia genus of cactuses expanded. Somewhere back in the day, I learned that the only native cactus found this far north (and east) was the eastern prickly pear, Opuntia humifusa. (Some pictures of them in flower from summers past at Jamaica Bay.) The taxonomists now say there is another…
-
Flower Fiends
Bumble/Tiger Swallowtail.A true bug, meaning an insect that sucks its food, and an unknown bee. Another bee I can’t identify.Don’t forget the butterflies, fools for flowers, too. One of the sulphurs, I’ve never been able to distinguish them.Whoa, Nelly! Look at the patterning on this Oblique Streaktail (Allograpta obliqua)! Going to work on getting a…
-
If you build it, they will come… sometimes
But not always. This wannabe Purple Martin colony waits patiently at the Narrows Botanical Garden. The half dozen bird-shapes are decoys It’s thought that the birds like to see that someone has done some recon. The so-called “scout” phenomenon of martins who arrive weeks in advance of others at a colony is, in explained by…
-
Slipperville
We stumbled upon a patch of Pink Lady Slippers (Cypripedium acaule), more than we’ve ever seen in one place by a long, long shot. There must have been close to a hundred visible from the path in a pine woods, especially in the parts recovering from burning. (Fire is so important to so many plants.)…
-
Even More Evidence
Pictures from the last week here in Brooklyn and northwestern Philadelphia. As spring continues, so does the most corrupt administration in American history, doing deep and lasting damage to the country, our democracy, and the rule of law.
-
More Spring Beauty
Timing is everything. Last Thursday, a cool spring day, in northwestern Philadelphia, things were just on the cusp. These Sanguinaria canadensis, bloodroot, were waiting for the sun.These Trilliums, too.Ah, but look carefully! Thalictrum thalictroides, rue anemone.Cardamine concatenata, the cutleaved toothwort, crow’s toes, pepper root or purple-flowered toothwort.The sun did come out in the afternoon… Stylophorum…
Backyard and Beyond 