tree's nature journal

Spring and Summer is my favorite time of years. This year has been especially wonderful, because we were blessed with lots of rain. This year our flowers florished and with the flowers came the butterflies.

 

 

Lovely Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (female)

butterfly enjoying the ground ivy.

 

Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele ) Atleast, i think :)

 

 

Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio glaucus Linnaeus)

 

Enjoying the Azalias

 

 

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

 

Butterfly bush

 

Notice the missing back wing? compliments of my cats .:(

 

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (female)

 

First Monarch i've seen all summer. Sorry for the bad pic, she wouldn't let me get very close.

 

American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

 

This is a definitely a comma! Notice the white comma on the hind wing.

 

 

 

These Fritillary butterflies are everywhere!

   

 

SIlver Spotted Skipper

 

Wood nymph

 

IO Moth
  

 

Recently Flit showed up, she would be Harold (our resident rubythroated hummingbird's) mate.

 

Flit enjoying the Bee balm

 

Humming Bird Moth

 

These grow to the actual size of hummingbirds. The first time i saw one i thought it was a humming bird, until i noticed the antenas. :)
  

 

 

 

     

 

Day Lily
  

 

 

Turk Cap Lilies

 

 

Mutant Black Eyed Susan this one appears to be a siamese twin. The flower's stem was thick and flat.

 

More mutants. i had three black eyed susan plants come up without any petals. The petals didn't fall off, or get eaten..they just never grew. :) The ones pictured with petals are separate plants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Columbine!!

   
 

 

took this picture while hiking on the New river trail, the deer was across the river from us.

 

i thought the coloring on this morning glory was really neat, maybe i just never noticed before... the color isn't fading, that's just the way it opened.

 

So much blooming, liatris, beebalm, echinachia and more!!

 

 

Eastern red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens).

Crazy spiders this year!!

 

This black and yellow garden Spider (Argiope auranita) is one of the largest i've seen. Her abdomen was atleast 3/4" long.

 

Backside of a black and yellow argiope/Golden orb weaver.

 

White-Backed Garden Spider / Banded Argiope
(Argiope trifasciata)

Thanks Steph!
.

 

 

Here's a couple pictures of the Black widow we found in the garden last year.

 

 

Black Widow i found running across the deck today 10/10/04. Bleck.

 

Not sure what this girl is, though it's a type of Araneus. Her abdomen is about the size of a dime. She was very dull, but had bright red at the base of her legs.

 

Marbled Orb Weaver, Araneus marmoreus.

 

Another orb weaver, Araneus Trifolium (Shamrock Spider)

Another picture of a Marbled Orb Weaver

 

No idea what this is. It's abdomen was not round and bulbous like the orb weaver's, it instead had two horns on it's back. It was large and furry!

 

Fishing Spider on the surface of the creek

 

Fishing spider eating a bee

 

This is an Arrowshaped Micrathena. This guy is quite little, this one was about 1/2" long total. They are very colorful, and crazy looking.

This Nursery Web Weaver Spider has an entire nursery of hatchlings she is caring for. She made herself at home in my flowerbed about 3 steps from the front door.   She was huge, 3 inches from tip of leg to leg.

 

 

 

Early Spring 2004 pictures.

Click Here to view 2005

click here to view spring 2006

click here to view spring 2007