6-30 Winterberry

6-30
The tiny branch-hugging white flowers of Winterberry, AKA Black Alder, are open
A caterpillar - possibly that of a Purple-lined Prominent moth - fed on White Beardtongue this morning.
John

Winterberry

Possibly Purple-lined Prominent moth caterpillar

6-29 Venus's Looking Glass

6-29
Venus's Looking Glass is opening flowers, parasitic Indian Pipes are pushing up through the leaf litter and Yellow Rattle is doing its thing.
John

Venus's Looking Glass

Indian Pipes

Yellow Rattle

6-28 Tubercled Orchids

6-28
Tubercled Orchids, State listed as rare, are pushing up spikes of yellowish-green flowers.
Nearby another orchid family member, Shining Ladies' Tresses, puts up spikes of yellow lipped white flowers.
John

Tubercled Orchid

Shining Ladies' Tresses

6-27 Swamp Candles

6-27
Swamp Candles, AKA Yellow Loosestrife, lights swamps, ditches and wet meadows.
The greenish-white flower spikes of Bracted Plantain lift over roadsides and waste places.
The much despised Wild Parsnip is going crazy. It can reach 5 feet tall.
John

Swamp Candle

Bracted Plantain

Wild Parsnip

6-26 Hedge Bindweed

6-26
The white or pink funnel shaped flowers of Hedge Bindweed drape thickets and weedy fields.
Common Mullein is opening spikes of bright yellow blossoms.
Galinsoga, AKA Quickweed, favors tilled soil and is a bane of gardeners.
Colorado Potato bugs take time from feeding on Horse Nettle to fulfill their destinies.
John

Hedge Bindweed

Common Mullein

Galinsoga

Potato bugs

6-25 Milkweed

6-25
Milkweeds are opening a few florets.
Shinleaf's nodding, waxy cups are having their day.
The easily overlooked yellow flowers of Wild Lettuce are opening.
The globular flower clusters of Bristly Sarsaparilla lift above weed patches and ditches.
John

Milkweed

Shinleaf

Wild Lettuce

Bristly Sarsaparilla

6-24 Common St. John's Wort

6-24
Common St. John's Wort is flowering in fields.
Rabbit's Foot Clover softens the edges of roads.
Dogbane Leaf Beetles feed - as you would expect - o Dogbane leaves.
And the larvae of an American Painted Lady butterfly spends the day in a shelter it created from Daisy leaves although its preferred host plants are Everlastings.
John

Common St. John's Wort

Rabbit Foot Clover

Dogbane Leaf Beetle

Caterpillar of American Painted Lady

6-23 Luna moth wings

6-23
A Luna moth met its fate in my field last night.
And a Northern Pickerel Frog lurked in the grass just feet from a basking Garter Snake.
John

Luna Moth wings

Northern Pickerel frog

Garter snake

6-22 Male Berry

6-22
The dangling greenish, urn-shaped flower of Male Berry are open.
And Poke is also having its day.
John

Male Berry

Poke

6-21 Ebony Jewelwing damselfly

6-21
Ebony Jewelwing damselflies are airborne.
Chicory and Butter and Eggs brighten roadsides.
Motherwort can be found along ditches, in thickets and near old cellar holes.
John

Ebony Jewelwing damselfly

Chicory

Butter and Eggs

Motherwort

6-20 Clammy Ground Cherry

6-20
The flowers of Clammy Ground Cherry normally face directly down, at the ground. I tipped this one up before taking its picture.
Damp areas, often along seasonal brooks, host Common Wood Sorrel.
With the warm weather major Dragonfly emergences have occurred. Pictured are a nymphal husk and a freshly emerged dragonfly.
John

Clammy Ground Cherry

Common Wood Sorrel

dragonfly husk

newly emerged dragonfly

6-19 White Sweet Clover

6-19
White Sweet Clover is raising its narrow wands along roadsides.
Bladder Campion dots fields and ditches.
Heal-all, AKA Self-heal, is poking up in lawns and waste places.
Moneywort, a round leaved, creeping Loosestrife relative, sprawls along damp edges.
John

White Sweet Clover

Bladder Campion

Heal-all

Moneywort

6-18 White Beardtongue

6-18
White Beardtongue is in flower.
Lance-leaved Coreopsis, a persistent escape, is coloring fields.
Spatterdock dots still waters.
One Queen Anne's Lace tells of more to come.
John

White Beardtongue

Lance-leaved Coreopsis

Spatterdock

Queen Anne's Lace

6-17 Cowwheat

6-17
Cowwheat is in flower. This species is a bit unique in that it has some chlorophyl for photosynthesis but it's also parasitic.
Black-eyed Susans are winking open and Purple-flowered Raspberries are brightening thickets.
John

Cowwheat

Black-eyed Susan

Purple-flowered Raspberries

6-16 Dogbane

6-16
Spreading Dogbane's little bell flowers are opening. Pollinators love these flowers!
John

Dogbane

6-15 Harebells

6-15
Harebells fleck dry ledges with blue.
White Avens dots weed patches and thickets.
Enchanter's Nightshade dusts damp, shady areas with tiny white flowers.
John

Harebells

White Avens

Enchanter's Nightshade