After the stifling heat of August, and general lack of rain, September in Virginia has kicked off a little cooler with a lot more rain. As always, the weeds have been most enthusiastic about the improved growing conditions, so I needed to spend some time in the garden today pulling up vines and other weeds. It was almost immediately evident that everything in the garden was growing fast, insects and plants alike. It seems like they know they only have another month before we start to see frost.
Monarch Caterpillar
Almost as soon as I began weeding, I found a monarch butterfly caterpillar. And then another. Both are now in a plastic kitchen storage container eating happily and the kids are eager to watch the transformation to bright butterflies. I actually found a third, but left it in the wild.
Bumblebee on Butterfly Bush
I think this is a wood borer bee. They drill perfectly round holes in our wood fence. They also love our butterfly bush, as do just about every flying insect.
White Water Lily
Our pond is almost completely covered with lily pads. They flower, but only while the sun is shining. Right now we get small yellow flowers and great big white flowers that are beautiful.
The pond attracts lots of wildlife, but most of all it attracts dragonflies. We have an almost continuous buzz of dragonflies around the pond, seemingly always focused on chasing each other, I assume to mate.
Our garden attracts a wide variety of other insects, including moths, butterflies, wasps and urban honeybees. It seems like after a quiet period during the intense heat of August, they are all out trying to get as much nectar and other food as they can before the cold sets in.