Hog-peanut, Purplestem Aster

American Hog-peanut is a twining vine belonging to the legume family.

Purplestem Aster features pale blue-violet to lavender ray florets. It thrives in wet, sun-drenched habitats.

Witches' Butter, Wild Cucumber, Great Golden Sand Digger Wasp, Willow Pinecone Gall

Witches' Butter has a gelatinous, rubbery texture when wet. This fungus expands during rainy weather and shrivels into a brittle crust during dry spells.

Wild Cucumber has star-shaped, greenish-white male flowers. It is a climbing vine that uses curling tendrils to secure itself to surrounding vegetation.

Great Golden Digger Wasp is a solitary predator with orange legs a golden body and dark wings. The female digs a burrow to create protected nurseries for their offspring. They hunt for grasshoppers, katydids and crickets.

The Willow Pinecone Gall is an unusual plant growth created by a tiny fly known as the willow pinecone gall midge. A female midge lays a single egg on terminal bud on the tip of a willow branch. The plant creates tight overlapping leaves that build a protective "pinecone" structure around the insect.

Blue Curl, Silverrod, Sunflower Tortoise Beetle, Three Bird, White Wood Aster, Turkey Tail Mushroom

Blue Curl gets its name from the long arched stamens that loop out and downward. It flowers in the morning and then the petals fall off by midday.

Silverrod is the only goldenrod that is white.

The Sunflower Tortoise Beetle features wide, clear margins extending like a transparent shell over its head and legs resembling a tiny turtle.

Three Bird Orchids open for a single day. It has small, delicate pinkish-white flowers that resemble birds in flight.

White Wood Asters have flat-topped clusters of daisy-like flower heads. The central flower discs change from a bright yellow to reddish-purple after pollination.

Turkey Tail Mushrooms are a common wood-decaying fungus. It has multi-colored zones of brown, tan and cream that resemble a turkey's tail.

Planthopper, Red-spotted Purple, Herald Moth, Oleander Aphids, Arrowhead, Burdock

The Northern Flatid Planthopper has a wedge shaped body and is pale mint-green.

The Red-spotted Purple has striking iridescent blue or blue-green sheen along the borders of its upper hindwings.

The Herald moth has scalloped, jagged wing edges and orange-patched brown patterns. This allows it to blend with dead, dry leaves.

Oleander Aphids are non-native sap-sucking pests. They have bright yellow-orange bodies with distinctive black legs and tail tubes. Their diet is mainly milkweed but they rarely kill established milkweed plants.

Common Arrowhead is a wetland perennial that grows in shallow water. It has large leaves that are shaped like arrowheads.

Burdock features purple, thistle-like flower heads.The hook-and-loop mechanism of the seed heads served as the inspiration for the invention of velcro.

Insects

This rather large Fishing Spider was stationed near her nursery web filled with hundreds of spiderlings.

A Common Thread-waisted Wasp has an exceptionally thin waist connecting the thorax to the abdomen.

A Double-banded Scoliid Wasp has a solid, bold white band at the front section of its abdomen and iridescent blue-black wings.

Shining Flower Beetles are overwhelmingly found on goldenrod.

The Green Stik Bug is a common shield-shaped bug that will secrete a foul-smelling fluid when threatened to deter predators.

Ghost Pipe, Agrimony, Woodland Sunflower

Ghost Pipe is a plant that lacks chlorophyll.It's a parasite that obtains nutrients from fungi in the soil.

Agrimony has tall, slender spikes of small, five-petaled yellow flowers.

Thin-leaved Sunflower is found in forest edges and floodplains.

Camouflage Looper, Tiger Lily, Teasel

A Camouflaged Looper disguises itself by cutting bits of Black-eyed Susan and attaching them to its back using silk. It will become a Wavy-lined Emerald moth.

Tiger Lilies are beginning to bloom.

Teasel is beginning to bloom. It has prickly cylindrical flower head composed of hundreds of tiny, white flowers.

Insects

Monarch butterfly caterpillar in the j-formation is preparing to pupate.

The next day it had formed its chrysalis. In 8 to 12 days a monarch should emerge.

A Northern Walkingstick climbing a locust tree.

The husk left on tree bark of a cicada which has molted into its adult form.

Purslane, Canada Burnet, Mountain Mint and Copper Butterfly, Early Goldenrod

Purslane is a low-growing succulent groundcover that thrives in full sun.

Canada Burnet has bottlebrush shaped white flower spikes. It's found in wet habitats.

The American copper butterflies love mountain mint. The mountain mint has small clusters of pale flowers.

Early Goldenrod has small, yellow flower heads found at the top of the stem.

Spotted Wintergreen, Wild Basil, Bull Thistle, Canada Thistle

Spotted Wintergreen has variegated leaves with pale green veins and white, nodding flowers. It is considered an endangered plant.

Wild Basil has dense, fuzzy clusters of pink to lavender flowers. It is not closely related to culinary basil.

Bull thistle is known for its stout, prickly stem and purple flower head. While viewed as a weed the seed heads attract goldfinches.

Canada Thistle has pale pink flower heads.