8-23 black Swallowtail caterpillar

8-23
The caterpillar of a Black Swallowtail butterfly fed on Queen Anne's Lace this morning.
A Cuckoo with a caterpillar in its bill posed in a dense thicket while I took its picture. I suspect a black-billed cuckoo although juvenile yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoos can be confused … at least by me.
John

Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar

Cuckoo

8-22 Pearly Everlasting

8-22
Pearly Everlasting is at its best, reminding me a bit of a griddle full of tiny little fried eggs!
A pair of Red-humped Caterpillars met on the midrib of a willow leaf. They are the larvae of the less than creatively named Red-humped Caterpillar Moth.
John

Pearly Everlasting

Red-humped Caterpillars

8-21 Great Lobelia

8-21
Great Lobelia is in flower. Most specimens seen locally are probably garden escapes although it is native to this area.
John

Great Lobelia

8-20 Beechdrops

8-20
WHite flowers with purple blotches are scattered along the stem of Beechdrops which are parasitic on the roots of Beech trees.
John

Beechdrops

Beechdrops

8-19 Common Arrowhead

8-19
The brilliantly white three-petaled flowers of Common Arrowhead brighten mud banks and shallow waters.
Giant Chickweed favors damp edges and ditches.
John

Common Arrowhead

Giant Chickweed

8-18 Buckeye Caterpillar

8-18
The larvae of a Buckeye Butterfly feeds on Slender Gerardia, one of its primary host plants. Gerardia is hemi-parasitic.
John

Buckeye Caterpillar

Slender Gerardia

8-17 Panicled Hawkweed

8-17
Both Panicled Hawkweed and Wild Marjoram are in flower.
John

Panicled Hawkweed

Wild Marjoram

8-16 Hairy Bush Clover

8-16
Hairy Bush Clover - a state listed rare species - is in flower.
A Woolly BEar Caterpillar worked its way up a stalk of dead grass. Woolly Bears are the larvae of Isabella Tiger Moth. There are two generations a year at this latitude.
John

Hairy Bush Clover

Woolly Bear Caterpillar

8-15 Smartweed Caterpillar

8-15
I found this Smartweed Caterpillar feeding on Purple Loosestrife. It's the larva of the Smeared Dagger moth. These caterpillars are said to be "highly variable in coloration, but nearly always some combination of black, yellow, red and white."
The always ratty looking flowers of Whorled Aster dot the woodlands.
John

Smartweed Caterpillar

Whorled Aster

8-14 Sand Jointweed

8-14
The strange little, almost leafless plant called Sand Jointweed is in flower.
A boldly colored orb weaving spider commonly called a garden spider  - more formally called a Black and Yellow Argiope - posed undisturbed as I took its picture.
John

Sand Jointweed

Black and Yellow Argiope

8-13 Round-leaved Bush Clover

8-13
In dry weed patches Round-leaved Bush Clover is flowering.
Along the banks of the West River Virginia Mountain Mint has its day.
Groundnut drapes thickets and perfumes the air.
John

Round-leaved Bush Clover

Virginia Mountain Mint

Groundnut

8-12 Spearmint

8-12
In wet ditches and along field edges Spearmint is in flower.
An infestation of Shining Flower Beetles (Phalacridae sp) dots Goldenrods.
An Ambush Bug - one of 22 related species - awaited prey on the same flowerheads.
John

Spearmint

Shining Flower beetles

Ambush Bug

8-11 White Snakeroot

8-11
White Snakeroot is frosting roadsides and thickets. It likes rich soil.
A Cranesbill - perhaps the introduced Siberian Cranesbill - is also flowering.
John

White Snakeroot

Cranesbill

8-10 Common Dodder

8-10
Common Dodder, AKA Love Vine, is in flower. This plant is completely parasitic, wrapping itself around its host and absorbing its sap through tiny suckers.
Wild Mint flourishes in wet ditches.
John

Common Dodder

Wild Mint

8-9 Gray Tree Frog

8-9
A Gray Tree Frog chose Tall White Lettuce as a place to perch. This frog was less than one inch long!
John

Gray Tree Frog

8-8 Downy Rattlesnake Plantain

8-8
Downy Rattlesnake Plantain is in flower.
John

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain

leaves

flowers

8-7 Pinesaps

8-7
Pinesaps - so named because they are saprophytic on white pines - are up and flowering. They are also found in oak woods.
Silverrod - the only Goldenrod which is not yellow - is having its day.
Three Birds apparently likes the cool damp weather we've been having. This little orchid is rare and individual plats do not appear above ground every year. This year they are prolific!
John

Pinesaps

Silverrod

Three Bird orchids

Three Bird Orchid

8-6 White Turtlehead

8-6
White Turtlehead likes - appropriately enough - wet feet.
Spotted Coralroot, a saprophyte, flourishes in deep woods.
Along the West River, an Egret, probably a Great Egret, searched for a meal.
John

White Turtlehead

Spotted Coralroot

Egret

8-5 Partridge Pea

8-5
Partridge Pea - although an aggressive invasive - flowers beautifully.
In riverside areas inundated for most of spring and early summer Creeping Spearwort blooms.
A nicely marked bug posed for a picture. I believe that it's the 5th instar of a Green Stinkbug which - as the name implies - is simply green.
John

Partridge Pea

Creeping Spearwort

5th Instar of Green Stinkbug

8-4 Crimson Clover

8-4
Crimson Clover, an introduced species I have never previously seen, is in flower. One lone roadside specimen with one very crimson blossom!
John

Crimson Clover

8-3 Blue Curl

8-3
Blue Curls are starting to flower. Long curling stamens and a spotted lower 'lip' mark this little mint family member.
John

Blue Curl

Blue Curl

8-2 Green Woodland Orchids

8-2
Green Woodland Orchids are in flower.
Another orchid family member, Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain, is also in flower.
John

Green Woodland Orchid

Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain

leaves of the Checkered Rattlesnake Plantain

8-1 Shrubby St. Johnswort

8-1
Shrubby St. Johnswort is in flower. There are 12 St. Johnsworts listed in Newcomb's Wildflower guide but this is the only woody species. Orange Grass, one of the smallest St. Johnsworts, is also in flower.
John

Shrubby St. Johnswort

Orange Grass