Wild Lupine Insect Visitors

Wild Lupine ~ Lupinus perennis 

Wild Lupine is a native perennial of dry, sandy sites in full sun. Flowering from late April/early May into June, the flower color ranges from light blue to dark purple.

Because of its early flowering time, overwintering queen Bumble Bees or their female offspring will visit the flowers. The irregular flower form means that the larger Bumble Bees don't have too much difficulty prying open the lower wing petals to reveal the reward inside.

Bombus auricomis

According to Illinois Wildflowers, there is no nectar reward provided by Wild Lupine, and pollen is forcibly ejected into the faces of bees.

Butterflies and moths will visit the flowers looking for nectar but come away with no reward. I photographed this Hummingbird Clearwing Moth this spring on our Wild Lupine flowers.

I also observed many Mason Bees (Osmia spp.) visiting Wild Lupine flowers this spring. They start with their rear legs prying open the petals, get a start on it opening, then use their mid and forelegs to hold the flowers open.

Wild Lupine and Mason Bees were built for each other, as Mason Bees collect pollen on their abdomens. Perfect for where the fused stamens are located just above the bottom keel, rubbing off some pollen for cross-pollination onto the Mason Bee abdomen.

Look for Mining Bees (Andrena spp.) a ground nesting native bee that emerges in early spring and visits flowers to collect pollen and nectar for nest provisioning.

Small Carpenter Bees (Ceratina spp.) also look in vain for nectar on flowers that have been forced open and are accessible as they cannot pry open the petals themselves.

Wild Lupine is a larval host plant to several butterfly and moth species, the most notable is the specialist Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides melissa) an endangered butterfly.

Wild Bergamot - A Five Star Pollinator Plant

Bombus perplexus

Wild Bergamot ~ Monarda fistulosa

Bombus rufocinctus

Mint Moth ~ Pyrausta sp.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Cuckoo Bee ~ Coelioxys sp

Greater Bee Fly

Silver Spotted Skipper

Long Horned Bee

Soldier Beetle

Long-horned Beetle ~ Typocerus velutinus

Sweat Bee

Mason Wasp

New Moth Discovery

I was photographing some prairie natives this weekend and found this moth clinging to some Little Bluestem grass blades.

A large moth with soft yellow colored wings and brown spots. It could be one of two species in the Xanthotype genus, either X. sospeta (Crocus Geometer) or X. urticaria (False Crocus Geometer).

According to Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods and BugGuide.net, identification to species is not possible except by examining the internal reproductive anatomy.

When I discover a new butterfly or moth species in the yard, I'm always curious what the larval host plants are and if I have any of them.

And it turns out I have quite a few for both of the these potential moth species.

The Crocus Geometer (Xanthotype sospeta) feeds on the following natives that I have in my yard: Red Maple, New Jersey Tea, Dogwood species, American Basswood, American Elm, Chokecherry and Nannyberry Viburnum.

The False Crocus Geometer (Xanthotype urticaria) feeds on the following natives that I have in my yard: Sweet Fern, Dogwood species, and Goldenrod species.

The Natural History Museum website has a host plant and butterfly/moth database that is very useful for cross-referencing.
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/hostplants/search/index.dsml

Native Plant of the Week: Early Meadow Rue ~ Thalictrum dioicum

Early Meadow Rue ~ Thalictrum dioicum


This perennial woodland native is one of my favorites to utilize in shaded, dry, upland sites. Flowering right now, the softly lobed leaflets set off the 18-24" tall flower stalks.

The clusters of yellowish dangling stamens of the male flowers are very showy and unique. Male flowers resemble tiny lanterns and as the stamens blow in the wind the pollen is dispersed.

Female flowers (housed on separate plants than the male flowers) are not as easy to spot. Sepal like petals are short lived on the female flower and what remains are thin pinkish-white pistils.

Early Meadow Rue is a great woodland native for any well-drained shaded woodland garden. Its flower stalks are stiff and persist into the summer months as the seeds form.

The foliage is equally attractive and contrasts nicely with many woodland natives such as ferns, solomon's seal, or wild ginger.

It's also a larval host plant for the White Striped Black Moth.

You can find Early Meadow Rue for sale at many native plant nurseries. If you have the right spot for this native I think you'll really enjoy it.

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

Early Meadow Rue is native to eastern North America, see map for range.

Native Plant of the Week: Virgin's Bower ~ Clematis virginiana

Virgin's Bower ~ Clematis virginiana
Other Common Name: Devil's Darning Needle

Virgin's Bower is a beautiful native vine that can be utilized in the landscape to climb on many types of structures. In our yard, we have two 20' tall trellises on our garage that this vine climbs upon as well as a picket fence that I weave the vine through.

It is a fast growing woody vine, in moist years growing over 20 feet in length. For this reason, I cut my vines back to about 4 feet in height each spring.

I leave the tangled stems on the trellis for the winter as several types of birds (Northern Cardinals and sparrow species) like to roost there.

The tiny half inch wide white flowers emerge in late July to early August. Although each individual flower is small, they are arranged in branched clusters giving it an airy appearance. The 3 leaflets are attractive with coarsely serrated edges.

Fluffy seedheads develop in late September to early October, a nice late season feature of this vine.

Virgin's Bower prefers partially shaded locations with medium moisture. It will brown out and grow little in hot, exposed locations. The vine on the east facing side of our garage performs the best.

It is common locally, growing in lower lying areas in woodlands and edges. It will scramble over lower lying shrubs and weave its way through the understory. Like all vines in the human landscape, it will need something to climb upon.

This August, I spotted for the first time two Clematis Clearwing Borer Moths (Alcathoe caudata) in the yard. The larvae of these moths bore into the roots of Clematis to overwinter there.

Virgin's Bower 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.

Some Late Season Insect Visitors

The native asters and goldenrod species have been providing some much needed nectar and pollen to insects lately.

Here are some photos of the visitors.

Yellow Collared Scape Moth
Cisseps fulvicollis


Read an earlier post about this moth

Spotted Cucumber Beetle
Diabrotica undecimpunctata

Striped Cucumber Beetle
Acalymma vittatum

A Weevil species

Bumble Bees

The Importance of Leaves in the Landscape

Learn about organisms that utilize leaves as habitat and how important it is to leave some in your landscape.

My post today at Native Plants Wildlife Gardens titled Step Away From That Leaf Blower!

Day Flying Moth Wasp Mimics

I spotted a new day flying moth in the yard yesterday, a Yellow Collared Scape Moth ~ Cisseps fulvicollis nectaring on Heart Leaved Aster.

This wasp mimic, is common in late summer and likes to nectar on fall flowering plants such as Asters and Goldenrods.

Larvae of this moth feed on grasses, lichens and spike-rushes. Adults fly from May to October. (BugGuide.net)

This moth is very similar in appearance to the Virginia Ctenucha Moth ~ Ctenucha virginica, the Virginia Ctenucha Moth is slightly larger and has blue coloration on its thorax. These moths are active as adults earlier in the year, from May to July, nectaring on flowers during the day.

The larvae of this moth overwinter under leaf litter, adults emerge in May with two generations in one year. (BugGuide.net) One more reason to leave plenty of leaf litter in your landscape.

According to Moths & Caterpillars of the North Woods, adults gather pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) from various plants which is toxic to most predators. One plant in particular that is high in PA is Eupatorium.

Have you seen either of these moths in your landscape?

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.

Milkweeds and Their Associated Insects

Monarch butterflies are the insect most frequently associated with Milkweed (Asclepias) species as a larval host.

The Monarch caterpillars have an advantage over predators from eating Milkweed plants which contain a toxic milky sap that becomes concentrated in their bodies.
"The larvae sequester cardiac glycosides from the milkweed leaves that they consume. Concentrations of these heart toxins in their bodies may be several times higher than those occurring in milkweed leaves." (Caterpillars of Eastern North America)

The orange and black coloration of insects associated with Milkweed belong to a group called the "Monarch Mimicry Complex". Either they feed on milkweed or share the same black and orange coloration as Monarchs that allow them protection from predators.


There are other insects who take advantage of the milky sap, or develop ways to 'eat around' the sap in order to consume Milkweed leaves.

Two types of beetles are commonly found on Milkweed. The first, pictured here, is the Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis). These beetles especially like feeding on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) although I have seen larva on Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa).

We find adults in early July in our area and a second population in September. These beetles are fairly large and conspicuous, just over 1 cm in length. The black patterning on their backs can be variable in shape. The second photo is of a larvae.

The other common beetle is the Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus). This long-horned beetle also prefers Swamp Milkweed as well as Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).

I usually see these beetles in July in central Minnesota. They are red-orange in color, with four black spots (eyes) on their thorax.

"Eggs are laid near milkweed plants in grass stems. The larva find their way to the milkweed plant and burrow into the roots where they develop." (Insects of the North Woods)


There are two bug species found on milkweed too.

Image © Lynette Schimming
from BugGuide.net

The Small Milkweed Bug (Lygaeus kalmii) is dark gray to black with an orange 'X' on its back.

Look for adults in early summer on Swamp Milkweed.

Adults lay their eggs on Milkweed in the spring and feed on the milkweed seeds. These bugs overwinter as adults.

Image © John Pearson
from BugGuide.net

The larva look very similar to the Large Milkweed Bug. One difference is the two black angled marks on their thorax.

Image © Greg Hume
from Wikipedia.org

The second bug found on Milkweed is the Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus). It has a prominent black band through the middle of its wings.

"Eggs are laid in milkweed seed pods or in crevices between the pods. About 30 eggs are laid a day, and about 2000 over a female's lifespan, which lasts about a month during the summer." (BugGuide.net)

In late August the larvae can be seen in huge numbers on Milkweed pods. They are pictured here on Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata).

These larvae mature into adults and overwinter in adult form. One generation per year.

The last insect commonly found on Milkweed plants is a moth caterpillar, the Milkweed Tussock Moth (Euchaetes egle). These black and orange caterpillars are found in early August, most often feeding on Common Milkweed.

The caterpillars "chew through major leaf veins to disarm the pressurized copious latex of the food plants." (Moths and Caterpillars of the North Woods) One generation per year in the north, caterpillars overwinter.