by Daisy | Oct 12, 2015 | Bugs & Critters, Garden
Up until this year, the usual lineup of flutterers has included the tiger swallowtail, the black swallowtail, and the occasional monarch butterfly. But this year, all of a sudden it seemed, I had a new butterfly in the garden I’d never noticed before. This new...
by Daisy | Aug 2, 2014 | Bugs & Critters, Garden
When we first saw this huge moth feeding on the butterfly bush, my first thought was, “It looks like a cross between a hummingbird and a bumblebee!” It’s actually a Bumblebee Moth (Hemaris diffinis), also known as a Snowberry Clearwing Moth, to the...
by Daisy | Jun 3, 2014 | Bugs & Critters, Garden
I was pleased to get this photo of a broad-headed skink sunning himself on a flagstone in my garden recently. By his coloration (the red head) I could identify it as a male. They have that bright noggin in the spring to attract the ladies. The female broad-headed...
by Daisy | May 27, 2014 | Bugs & Critters, Garden
When I was a kid, persimmon attacks were common, particularly among the brothers in my family. Actually, exclusively among the brothers in my family. I’m under a different kind of persimmon attack now. And while the attack of yesteryear (being pelted with...
by Daisy | Mar 19, 2014 | Bugs & Critters, Garden
Does a hard winter kill off insect pests? Every time there is a particularly cold winter with a lot of below-freezing temperatures, one comment I hear is from folks hoping at least it will kill off the bad bugs. By the same token, when the winter is especially mild,...
by Daisy | Aug 18, 2013 | Bugs & Critters, Garden
Never having seen a cicada in mid-moult, I was fascinated to find this one in my yard this weekend. Their sounds are the background music for nearly every summer (“Can you say that again!? I can’t hear you over the cicadas!”) and I’ve often...
