8-16 Definite Tussock Moth caterpillar

8-16
A caterpillar called the Definite Tussock Moth caterpillar rests on a twig.
A good crop of Dwarf Enchanter's Nightshade carpets wet places.
A colorful little Garter snake waits patiently for me to leave.
John

Definite Tussock Moth caterpillar

Dwarf Enchanter's Nightshade

Garter snake

8-15 American Yew

8-15
The bright red berry-like cones of American Yew seem almost translucent.
The greenish-white flowers in long branching groups of umbels mark
Spikenard.
Silverrod is starting its flowering. Silverrod is the only white goldenrod.
John

American Yew berry

Spikenard

Silverrod

8-14 Three-seeded Mercury

8-14
Large leafy bracts and clusters of tiny flowers tucked in the leaf axils make Three-seeded Mercury easy to identify.
A colorful Tachinid Fly paused just long enough for me to takes its picture.
John

Three-seeded Mercury

Tachinid fly

8-13 Bur Marigold

8-13
Bur Marigold, AKA Beggar's Tick, are flowering.
Colorful, but not positively identified, galls line an Oak twig.
John

Bur Marigold

Gall on Oak twig

8-11 Dead Man's Fingers

8-11
Although they start out white in the spring, the fungi called Dead Man's Fingers turn a carbon black by late summer. They grow on the stumps of Maple and Beech.
John

8-10 Hog Peanut

8-10
The tiny paired flowers of Hog Peanut drape grasses and weeds.
Panicled Tick-trefoil lurks along the edges of dry woods.
A juvenile Great Blue Heron looked for lunch in the field behind my house.
John

Hog Peanut

Panicled Tick-trefoil

Great Blue Heron

8-9 Carrion berries

8-9
The grape-like fruits of Carrion Flower drape thickets.
Two species of Calligrapha beetles posed nicely while I took their pictures.
John

Carrion Flower fruit

Calligrapha Beetle

Calligrapha Beetle

8-8 Turtleheads

8-8
Aptly named Turtlehead can be found in wet ditches and along shores.
Diminutive Canada St. Johnsworts flourish in damp lawns and low places.
A male Northern Walkingstick perched on a Black Locust. We routinely see these insects in even numbered years but find none in odd numbered years.
John

Turtlehead

Canada St, Johnswort

Northern Walkingstick - male

8-7 Galls

8-7
Grape Phylloxera galls make a grape leaf nearly identifiable and Willow Cone galls look as if they should e in evergreen forests rather than on river banks.
Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars devour milkweed leaves one after another before they go their individual ways.
A Red-spotted Purple/White Admiral Complex basked in a patch of sunlight. The two butterflies are varieties of the same species and often interbreed.
John

Grape Phylloxera galls

Willow Cone gall

Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars

Red-spotted Purple/White Admiral

8-6 Locust Treehopper

8-6
A Locust Treehopper - one of many thorn mimicking hoppers - perched on a goldenrod.
In the woods, Three Bird Orchids were at their delicate best.
John

Locust Tree Hopper

Three Bird Orchid

8-5 Suphur Polypore

8-5
Sulphur Polypore makes the base of a tree seem to blaze.
Rough Hawkweed is in flower along road sides and in old fields.
A Red-tailed Hawk perch hunts from a utility pole.
John

Sulphur Polypore

Rough Hawkweed

Red-tailed Hawk

8-4 Large Cranberries

8-4
Along the West River, in an area inundated by every freshet, Large Cranberries are setting fruit.
John

Large Cranberry

8-3 Blue Curls

8-3
The delicate little mint family flowers known as Blue curls are starting to open.
Both red and white Baneberries can be seen in the woods. white baneberries are also known as doll's eyes.
John

Blue Curl

Red Baneberry

White Baneberry

8-2 Groundnut

8-2
The fragrant flower clusters of Groundnut drape riverside thickets.
Whorled Milkworts dot a grassy area near the river.
Spotted Coralroots - saprophytic member of the orchid family - are found in shady woods with deep layers of rotting leaf litter.
John

Groundnut

Whorled Milkwort

Spotted Coralroot

8-1 Black Knapweed

8-1
Black Knapweed is in flower and AMbush Bugs are lurking in Goldenrods hoping that an unwary insect comes within reach.
Also seen: two recently fledged Cooper's Hawks and a Goldfinch gathering nesting materials.
John

Black Knapweed

Ambush Bug