Photos From The Week

A Digger Bee Pollinates Stiff Goldenrod

A Macro Look at the Garden This Week

A Gray Tree Frog finds a
nice perch on a fallen oak leaf

Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) flowers

A Twelve Spotted Skipper Dragonfly clings to
Big Bluestem ready to warm up in the approaching sun

Northern Paper Wasp nectars on Boneset

A Leafcutter Bee Pollinates Nodding Onion

New Wasp Arrival - Thread Waisted Wasp
on Stiff Goldenrod

A Jagged Ambush Bug
waits for its prey to stop by on Helianthus.

A New Sand Wasp Visitor

Sand Wasp
Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus

Late summer is the time of year to observe a large diversity of insects in our landscape. We've had a few new wasps appear this week, one in particular was interesting - a type of Sand Wasp in the family Crabronidae. These wasps were nectaring on Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) in our raingarden.

Its longer than typical body is black with white stripes and is very similar in shape to the Cicada Killer Wasp.

The majority of sand or digger wasps are ground nesting wasps, although some nest in dead wood or mud nests. They are solitary nesters, but some species will build nests in the same area. These wasps are predators on a variety of other insects including flies, bugs and bees where they fly the prey back to their nests in their mandibles. (Insects Their Natural History and Diversity)

This particular genus of Sand Wasp likes to provision its nest with true bugs, the nest is mass provisioned once, then closed. (BugGuide.net) It is important to leave some bare areas of soil in your landscape, especially sandy soil for these wasps. Many native wasp and bee species nest in the ground.

Have you seen Sand Wasps in your landscape?

Native Plant of the Week: Sweet Joe Pye Weed ~ Eutrochium purpureum

Sweet Joe Pye Weed ~ Eutrochium purpureum (Eupatorium purpureum)


The Sweet Joe Pye Weed in our landscape is in full bloom right now. A favorite nectar plant for many butterflies and bees. The black swallowtail butterflies seem to prefer it over any other plant.

The flower heads can be very large, the one in this photo is around 12 inches in width. The tiny individual flowers are thin petaled and wispy. Grouped together in the branched cluster, the flower heads make quite a statement.

Sweet Joe Pye is a light pink flowering Joe Pye, the Spotted Joe Pye (Eutrochium maculatum) is the showier of the two species and the one highly cultivated by the horticultural trade for its darker flower color and purple stems. Spotted Joe Pye likes moist, rich soils. I prefer the Sweet Joe Pye, especially for my landscape, where it prefers drier soils and can tolerate quite a bit of shade.

This cluster self seeded in my dry south facing woodland and is a great addition flowering in late summer when everything else has finished.

The toothed leaves are arranged in whorls around the stem and are a favorite perch for tree frogs. Sweet Joe Pye is a very tall plant reaching heights of 6 feet or more. It is an excellent native to use in perennial borders.

Native bees love all the Joe Pyes, on cooler nights the bumble bees hang beneath the flower clusters and wait for the sun to warm them in the morning.

Sweet Joe Pye Weed is an important source of nectar for the Monarch Butterfly too in our area, as it prepares for its migration southwards.

If you are like the height and form of Joe Pye Weed but have drier soils, I would try this species.

Sweet Joe Pye Weed is native to eastern North America, see map below for range.

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP).
2011. North American Plant Atlas. Chapel Hill, N.C.

A Sample Public Native Landscape

When it comes to landscaping with native plants, my municipality not only talks the talk but walks the walk.

The landscaping around our City Hall complex which includes the police station, arena and park is professionally landscaped with natives.


The divided road leading you into the complex is planted with Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), a low growing native shrub. Arising from this mass of Bush Honeysuckle are a mixture of native trees.

Closer to the entrance, the median is planted with Bur Oaks (Quercus macrocarpa), and further into the complex Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana) and Blue Beech Trees (Carpinus caroliniana) are also featured.

Prairie grasses (Little Bluestem and Side Oats Grama) are also massed and intermixed with the Bush Honeysuckle along the sidewalks showcasing a mix of textures and forms.

The parking lots are expertly designed to capture water runoff into deep swales. In the swales Tamarack (Larix laricina) and River Birch (Betula nigra) are the dominant tree species, as well as a mix of sedges. These trees help to shade the parking lots.

A storm sewer located at the corner of the parking lot where water will flow into the swale behind.

A drier berm planted with Bigtooth Aspens (Populus grandidentata) and Bush Honeysuckle with a small edging of grass.

A large oak tree was preserved during construction and now has a boulder retaining wall around the front edge by the sidewalk. A nice use of Fragrant Sumac 'Gro Low' (Rhus aromatica) growing under the oak and cascading over the rock wall.

An attractive transition along a trail from lawn to native plantings bordered by prairie grasses and Bush Honeysuckle.

Late Summer Wasp Mimic

Syrphid Fly ~ Spilomiya longicornis


I am amazed at the number of insect mimics I've seen this year in the yard. It's hard to keep track of which one is mimicking another and why.

This Syrphid Fly first appeared last year when our Stiff Goldenrod was flowering. I was able to photograph one again just last week.

It was perched on some Boneset leaves and was waving its forelegs much like the Stilt Legged Fly does. I assume this mimics the longer antennae of wasps. So not only is this fly colored like a black and yellow wasp, it is also trying to mimic behaviors of wasps.

These flies like to nectar on late summer flowers in our yard, I have seen them on Goldenrods as well as Asters. The markings on the face are intriguing with the large eyes spotted with yellow.

David at Montana Wildlife Gardener blogged recently about two western Spilomyia species.

Native Plant of the Week: Pale Indian Plantain ~ Arnoglossum atriplicifolium

Pale Indian Plantain ~ Arnoglossum atriplicifolium (Cacalia atriplicifolia)


If there's one native plant that people inquire about the most at our openhouses it would be Pale Indian Plantain. It is an extremely tall upright native perennial, reaching heights of 12 feet or more in some areas in our yard.

The white clusters of flowers open in mid to late July. The individual flowers are not very significant, but arranged in large umbels they make quite a statement.

This native perennial can tolerate a full sun to part shade locations in sandy to loamy soil. Young plants are basal rosettes with large leaves, it takes two to three years for the plants to become established to send up the flower stalk.










The flowers are sought out by many native bees and wasps. The Great Black Wasps are numerous on this plant in August, as well as several types of potter wasps.

This plant produces large quantities of seeds that are wind dispersed. I will sometimes cut the seed heads off to reduce the amount of new rosettes that can crop up the following year in different parts of the yard.

The light purple stems are also an attractive feature, contrasting with the blue-green leaves.

The stems are hollow and in the spring after drying for the winter make great natural tubes for solitary bee nests. I will cut and bundle several and hang them in a sunny location.

If you're looking for a native perennial plant with stature, this would be a good fit.

Close up of the stem and leaf.

Pale Indian Plantain is native to eastern North America. See map below for range.

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP).
2011. North American Plant Atlas. Chapel Hill, N.C.

Before & After Photos

Before 2004

After July 2011
Second year after planting
Prairie to Woodland Grant Area

Front Hillside Before September 2004

August 2011

Backyard 2004

Backyard 2011
Woodland Understory Reestablished

Side yard 2004

Side yard 2011
Woodland Plant Community expanded

By Garage, Before 2005

Removed Impervious Surfaces
August 2011

Side yard, before 2004

Side yard, August 2011

A Monarch Caterpillar Look-Alike

Grapeleaf Skeletonizer ~ Harrisina americana


As I was walking by my grape vine that's woven into our picket fence, I caught out of the corner of my eye what looked liked a Monarch caterpillar eating the growth tips and tendrils of the grape. But wait, monarchs don't eat anything but milkweed.

On closer inspection, I realized it was probably a moth caterpillar with both spiny hairs on top and long wispy hairs beneath. As it turns out, the Grapeleaf Skeletonizer's common food plants include grape and virginia creeper (Parthenocisssus).

According to Caterpillars of Eastern North America, the young instars feed in groups on the underside of leaves, then as they mature they become more solitary. This moth's lifecycle is spent 40 out of the 65 days as a caterpillar. The pupa overwinters in a spun cocoon among the fallen grape leaves.

Minnesota is at the northern edge of its range, which includes the northeast to New Hampshire.

Insect Diversity Celebration: Dragonflies

CELEBRATING INSECT DIVERSITY ALL WEEK!

Share your link at the bottom of your dragonfly photos or posts.

Monday: Beetles  |  Tuesday: Bees  |  Wednesday: Flies

Thursday: Wasps  |  Friday: Butterflies  |  Saturday: Bugs

Sunday: Dragonflies

SHARE YOUR DRAGONFLY PHOTOS OR LINKS