New England Asters are some of my favorite flowers. I know when the asters bloom in my garden that fall is truly here and the calendar year is coming to the end. New York asters are similar flowers. I am not sure what the difference is between the two species. They both are great for […]
pollinators
Pollinator Syndromes: How to Predict Which Flowers Insects Will Like
Pollinators are those animals that give the invaluable service of helping plants reproduce and create seed or fruit that humans and others eat. There are many pollinators including bats, bees, beetles, birds and butterflies. The flower type, shape, color, odor, nectar, and structure vary and attract different pollinators according to the pollinators likes and needs. […]
Red Admiral Butterfly and Flowers That Attract Them.
A Red Admiral butterfly was sipping nectar from the Purple Coneflower (Echinacea Purpurea) in my garden the other day. When I see a Red Admiral, I always catch my breath. It is something about the curved band of red on the dark black wings that delight me. These aren’t big butterflies but their colors are very […]
New England Asters are a Buffet for Pollinators
From my nature journal – October 14, 2015 The New England Asters in my garden have finished blooming. The deep pink flowers began opening in late September and had a crowd of bees, flies, and beetles around the blossoms until last week. New England Asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) are native from Massachusetts and Vermont to North […]
Gossamer Butterfly Family (Lycaenidae)
Gossamer Wing family butterfly is called the “gossamers” because some of the butterflies have wings, which are so sheer and delicate the wings look like the soft, filmy, sheer fabric called gossamer. They are also called “the little butterflies” because many butterflies in the family are small with wing spans of ⅞” to 2’’ (22 […]
Swallowtail Butterfly Family
Swallowtail butterfly family includes large, attention-demanding butterflies. Swallowtail butterflies are classified as members of the subfamily Papilionidae (Swallowtails) of the order Lepidoptera (butterflies, skippers and moths). The family also includes the Parnassian butterflies. There aren’t any Parnassian butterflies in the East Coast region of North America and I don’t discuss them here. Population […]
The 6 Butterfly Families and Identifying Butterflies
There are over 18,000 species of butterflies in the world. Humans have created butterfly families to help us study and understand all the thousands of butterflies in the world. Humans have identified 717 species north of Mexico. There are 250 species identified in the East Coast region of North America (Maine to Florida). It […]
Early Spring Blooming Plants to Attract Bumble Bees
Bumble Bees are among the very first insects we see flying in early spring. Gnats and flies seem to emerge first, then the hairy bees are seen several weeks later. Bumble Bees have hairy bodies which provide insulation from the still chilly weather of spring. When they are flying around the trees are beginning to […]
A Naturalist's Garden: An Overview
Attracting birds, hummingbirds, butterflies and other animals to your garden is a rewarding pastime. I like the convenience of walking into my garden and seeing butterflies sipping nectar at my flowers and birds eating seeds at the feeders. I have what is called a naturalist’s garden or a backyard habitat. You can see some photos […]
Butterflies and Moths Information
There are many posts on butterflies and moths here on In Season. The here is a list of the pages with information on butterfly gardening and the life cycle of butterflies. The Butterfly Life Cycle The Butterfly Egg and Where to Find It The Caterpillar Chrysalis Into Butterfly The Adult Butterfly Migrating Monarch at Cape May […]