a tale of tails, tenacity, and tedium, as told by me, usually barefoot and bellowing

Monday, August 1, 2016

The Cone Flower Community

While watching the Praying Mantis
She spied me!
These are wonderful insects to have in your garden.  As a child I got a nickel for finding one of these and relocating it in our garden.  Lady Bugs, the real ones, were a penny apiece.  I also earned money by removing potato beetles.  The Adult was worth a nickel and the young were a penny apiece.  I became rich!
I am glad to see any pollinators but the honey bees have become a rarity.
The Cone Flower/Echinacea  is now growing its second round of blooms while the others prepare to seed.
A pair of Pearl Crescent Butterflies, I think, dine together.
Sometimes I have trouble identifying them, Alex.
If someone knows the right name. please, let me know.

18 comments:

Lynne said...

Great photos . . .
Preying Mantis and pollinators . . .

Ginny Hartzler said...

I believe the pair are skippers. Some look like they have four wings, but they don't. Your insect shots are great, especially the mantis. So sad that the bees are dwindling. I hope someone finds a fix for colony collapse. I got a chuckle abut your childhood earnings! Sounds like a fun way to make some change.

Lee said...

It's ages since I've seen a Praying Mantis...but then again, I've not gone looking, either.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

We'll just call them bugs.
We've had a few praying mantises, but not many over the years.

TexWisGirl said...

neat way to make money. :) i think those are a type of skipper, but don't know what type.

LindaG said...

We've seen a few praying mantises, but I suspect there are more than I've seen. At least I hope so.
I am bad at identifying what I see in the yard, but I think your photos are great and I enjoy seeing your butterflies.
Stay cool and have a great day!

eileeninmd said...

I love the coneflowers, my butterflies love them too. Cool sighting of the praying mantis. Cute story and post. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day!

MadSnapper said...

Love that praying mantis. The cone flowers are magnificent. Really great shots of them. I never got paid for anything when I was young but my brother used to earn Nichols by rubbing Daddy's neck while we were driving.

IanH said...

Really nice shots! No Manti around here :-{ , but I used to play with them in the Toronto area when I was a kid.

Susan said...

I, too, have loads of bumble bees, but no honey bees. Of course, the tenant farmer of the field next to me liberally sprays his field with Roundup. When confronted, he told me not to worry - it "goes away". There is no "away". I digress. When I was a child, I had a praying mantis nest in a jar. It hatched millions (or so it seemed) of tiny baby mantis' and I let them loose in our garden. I've never forgotten it.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I don't know the name. We have lots of honey bees around here now that my son has become a beekeeper. He keeps going out and rescuing hives that other people want gone!

Farm Girl said...

Your photos are amazing. I never knew the name of those Pearl Crescent Butterflies. We always just called them the fast little butterflies. You got pictures of them. Really nice Gail.

Arkansas Patti said...

Ha ha, I use to collect grasshoppers but it was 10 for a penny. You had a better employer.
Nice to see the back up pollinators doing their job.

Empty Nester said...

I've been wanting to plant flowers that bees love but I'm having a time finding any that have not been treated with toxic chemicals. And then I wonder if it's a good idea to attract them when others in the neighborhood have flowers that are treated with chemicals. When did planting bee-friendly flowers become such a struggle? Your pictures are fantastic!

Martha said...

Such a wonderful post with lovely images. It is sad how much the honey bees have declined. Breaks my heart.

Debbie said...

cone flowers, so beautiful and a great attractor of many critters!!!

Josie Two Shoes said...

Beautiful photos! You do such a lovely job of capturing nature for us. Coming here is always a treat!

Susan Anderson said...

it worries me that honey bees are even rare where YOU live. Sheesh. Not good.

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