8-27 Northern Walking Stick

8-27 This male Northern Walking Stick clung motionless on a locust tree today. John

8-26 Umbrella-wort

8-26 Umbrella-wort, AKA Four O'clock, is a western species that turns up occasionally in Vermont. John

8-25 Prostrate Vervain

8-25 Dry, waste places are home to Prostrate, AKA Large-bracted, Vervain a more southerly species only rarely found in Vermont. This occurrence was in Rockingham. John

8-24 Panicled Aster

8-24 Panicled, AKA Lance-leaved, Asters grace fields, pastures and roadsides. There are 37 aster species listed in the Flora of Vermont. John

8-23 American Pennyroyal

8-23 Fields and dry woods are home to American Pannyroyal. Bruised leaves of this mint family member smell strongly of oil of pennyroyal. John

8-22 Beggar-ticks

8-22 The rayless flowers of Beggar-Ticks are surrounded by numerous leaf-like bracts. John

8-21 Slender Gerardia, Monarch

8-21 Slender Purple Gerardia, AKA False Foxglove, has opened the first of its flowers. Look for it on river banks and in damp meadows.

Of the dozen Monarch caterpillars hatched on our milkweeds only the three that were container raised survived.

8-20 Pennsylvania Leatherwing, Sarsaparilla leaves

8-20 This beetle, called by one source a Pennsylvania Leatherwing, is more flatteringly called a Golden Soldier Beetle. I see them on Goldenrods.

Leaf Miner damage on Sarsaparilla leaves makes an interesting - and I think pleasing - picture. John

8-19 Closed Gentian, Great Blue Heron

8-19 Moist woods and meadows are home to Closed Gentian, AKA Bottle Gentian, so called because its flowers never open.

Great Blue Herons are hearty. This one may linger until ice begins to cap shallow waters. John

8-18 Northern Flatid Planthopper, Banded Tussock Moth caterpillar

8-18 The snowy white color of the Northern Flatid Planthopper seems to provide no camouflage in a predominantly green landscape.

Banded Tussock Moth caterpillars, generalist feeders on the leaves of trees and shrubs, are often called Bottle Brush or Fu Manchu caterpillars. It's thought that their bristles make them unpalatable to birds. John

8-17 Sweet Everlasting, Hairy Bush Clover

8-17 Sweet Everlasting, AKA Catfoot, is a dry field inhabitant that is said to be mildly aromatic if bruised.

Dry woods and fields are home to Hairy Bush Clover, a State listed rare species,that may reach a height of 5 feet. John

8-16 Star-flowered Solomon's Seal berries, Heath Aster

8-16 Star-flowered Solomon's Seal, a habitat generalist that grows in both sandy banks and in moist meadows, is now crowned with black striped yellow berries.

Thinly vegetated fields and waste places are home to Heath Aster, one of over 40 asters listed in my field guide. John

8-15 Locust Borer, Bur Cucumber

8-15 Adult Locust Borers can be seen on goldenrods. Larvae bore into live locust trees weakening branches.

Riverbanks and moist thickets are home to One-seeded Bur Cucumber. John

8-14 Brown Knapweed, Spearmint and Blow Fly

8-14 Fields, roadsides and weedy places are home to Bown Knapweed.

A Blow Fly nectared on Spearmint, a plant found in dtches and along streams. John

8-13 Hairy Wild Petunia

8-13 Hairy Wild Petunia has shown up in my flower beds. This is a native wildflower but the northern extreme of its natural range is listed as New Jersey. Here it is almost certainly an unintended human intoduction. John

8-12 Purslane

8-12 Purslane is a drought resistant succulent found in dry sandy soils which can be gathered and eaten as a green. John

8-11 European Paper Wasp

8-11 Native to Europe and China Polistes dominulus was first found in Massachusetts in 1980 and is now found nearly nationwide.

8-10 Rough Hawkweed, Silverrod

8-10 Rough Hawkweed, one of nine yellow hawkweeds listed in my field guide, is a dry soil specialist.

Silverrod, the only white goldenrod, also favors dry habitats. John

8-9 Tearthumb. Bur-reed

8-9 Wiry stems and backward pointing prickles can make any attempt at pulling Tearthumb a painful experience. This plant favors low, wet places.

Muddy shores and shallow water are home to Bur-reed. There are several related species in the northeast. John

8-8 Purple-stemmed Aster, Locust Tree Hopper

8-8 Purple-stemmed Aster - one of 43 Asters listed in my field guide - favors swamps and low thickets.

Thorn mimicking Locust Tree Hoppers can be seen on Black Locusts. They secrete honeydew and are often attended by ants. John

8-7 Eastern Willow-herb, Seven-angled Pipewort, Eastern Cottontail

8-7 Eastern Willow-herb, AKA Purple-leaved Willow-herb, a member of the Evening Primrose family, favors wet ground.

Seven-angled Pipewort, AKA Hatpins, is found in shallow still waters.

Every thicket and weed patch seems to be home to an Eastern Cottontail or two. John

8-6 Swamp Smartweed, Oleander Aphids

8-6 Swamps and wet shores are home to Swamp Smartweed.

Oleander Aphids, AKA Milkweed Aphids, can't survive our winters and have to reinhabit northern states annually. None ever return south. Theirs is a one way migration north, a fatal attempt at colonization. John

8-5 White Snakeroot, Unidentified Geranium

8-5 White Snakeroot, a rich woods species, is starting its flowering.

An as yet unidentified geranium family member edged a weedy parking area. This is a big family with over 400 members, the great majority of which are introduced. This one is possibly Thunberg's Geranium. Possibly. John

8-4 American Hog-Peanut

8-4 In moist thickets Hog-Peanut climbs over, and is supported by, other plants. Along with its visible flowers it also produces cryptic (never opening) flowers that ripen to subterranean peanut-like edible tubers. John

8-3 White Baneberry, Common Hops

8-3 The China-white berries of White Baneberry, AKA Doll's Eyes, peer from the woods and thickets.

Common Hops, a cultivated plant in the hemp family, often escapes to and persists in moist thickets. John

8-2 Blue Curl, Japanese Knotweed

8-2 Dry soils along roadsides and railroad tracks are home to Blue curls, a mint family member.

Aggressively invasive Japanese Knotweed, an escape from cultivation, crowds roadsides, river banks, and any places with disturbed soils. John

8-1 Great Blue Lobelia

8-1 Moist thickets and swamps are home to Great Blue Lobelia. It's also a popular garden plant. John