20170628 Sweat Bee, Pickerel Weed, Polypody, Pitcher Plant, Ruffed Grouse, Bumblebee, Woodduck, Paper Wasp

We saw these sights along Shebeshekong Road Hwy 529 on our way back from Parry Sound:

A green Sweat Bee is gathering pollen and nectar … possibly for a nest of eggs yet to be hatched.

A clump of Pickerel Weed is gathering energy for its purple flowers which we’ll see in a few weeks…

This is Rock Cap Fern or Polypody

 

The Pitcher Plant is maturing.  I am interested to see how that flower head develops….

Ruffed Grouse giving the photographer the eye ….(click for more detail)

Strutting…

…. then quietly disappearing into the long grass …

This appears to be one of the many Paper Wasps that are found in North America.   Photos of them can be found on the many pest control websites found on the internet.

Bumblebee with friend enjoying lunch …

A lone female Wood Duck in a stream near the intersection of Hwys 645 and 529.  No sign of a male.

20170620 Jamot Rd Monarch, White Admiral, Harris’s Checkerspot, Painted Lady, Tufted Loosestrife, Sheep Laurel, Ruffed Grouse

I don’t use a compost pile anymore as I have had bear problems.  So nowadays I return kitchen vegetable and animal waste back to “the bush” — a natural recycle.  After that and a doggie walk, we spent an enjoyable afternoon idling along Jamot Lumber Road.    This is some of what we saw:

The Monarchs are feeding on orange hawkweeds and laying eggs at the bases of common milkweed leaves.

Are these little flies feeding on something?

A yellow tufted loosestrife growing from the top of an altered beaver dam.

This is an amazing shot when you look closely!   Click on it to see what the White Admiral has in the coil of its proboscis.

 

Here is a closeup from a photo taken 10 seconds after the above one.

Is it eating a grain of sand?  Hint:  See the last item on this list of Butterfly Garden Necessities.

Two good ID photos of the White Admiral:

I think that this is a Harris’s Checkerspot, Closyne harrisii.

Green bug on ox eye daisy …

This ruffed grouse was having a bath in the dust along the side of the road.  Maybe it is molting.

Common cinquefoil …

This Sheep Laurel is blooming much later than the ones along Shebeshekong road.

Two Chalk fronted corporals … who, “readily approach humans to feed on the mosquitoes and biting flies that humans attract.”

Female above

Male below…

Pretty green bug on petals of blackberry flowers …

Back in Britt, the lilies in Diana’s flower garden are starting to bloom, to be resplendent on Canada Day.

And a Painted Lady on her  (Diana’s) walkway…

This is a real feast:  http://www.randysnaturephotography.com/butterfly_and_insect_index.htm

And it is a great reference for identifying most of the little critters we see in the air, foraging on flowers, holding on to perches and laying eggs all around us.

 

Worth looking at:  https://www.chelseagreen.com/blogs/oxeye-daisy/

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