Bugs, Bees, and Other Things that Crawl and Fly

Updated:  I had to share a few of the other critters I've seen in the yard in the past week.

I'm pretty sure this is the Orange Sulphur Butterfly

Polyphemus moth caterpillar.  I regret not bring it in because it was nowhere to be found ten minutes later.  But we now how a monarch caterpillar to watch so I guess it's alright. 

Spider!

Monarch butterfly caterpillar (it's less than a centimeter long right now).  We put him in a mason jar and and will give him fresh milkweed everyday until he becomes a chrysalis 

American Lady Butterfly (looks like, but is not a Painted Lady)

While walking through my garden yesterday, I was surprised that there was not that much to do.  The early spring planting is done, the late spring weed fiesta is over, and I don't have the money for any of the big projects I have planned so they are all on hold.  I did manage to pick a bowl of raspberries and three beautiful zucchini that we ate for dinner.  I also spent at least an hour staring at one flowerbed trying to rearrange it in my head to look better.  One thing I did notice while I was enjoying the cooler than usual weather was all of the critters that were enjoying the flowers with me.  Here are some of the bugs, bees, and things that crawl and fly that call my garden home.  Note: I also saw what looked like a monarch butterfly yesterday, but it flew over the house without stopping so I didn't get a picture.

Honey bee with a leg full of pollen

A sweat bee hanging out in the roses.  I don't see these in the yard too often. 

spider!

One of three bumble bees that were hanging out of the coneflowers, catmint, and beebalm.  

Fly!

The boys knocked part of the wing off of this red admiral butterfly awhile ago, but he is still flying around from flower to flower

Along with all of the animal life in the yard, I also have some beautiful flower beds.  Here are some updated pictures of the flowers, many of which were not blooming until recently.

Two of the three day lilies are blooming.  This one is my favorite.  I'm thinking of moving the red day lily because it didn't bloom this year and may need more sun.  The lilies don't seem to mesh well with my other flowers so this is definitely a plant on my watch list

I LOVE these flowers.  Horsemint is so gorgeous.  I have a few of these that I planted from seed so as great as the flowers look this year, I can't wait to see how they look when they are more established

I seem to have lost one of my balloon flower plants, but they are still a cute little surprise flower on the edge of the bed

My beebalm is a definitely another favorite among the bees.  They are spending more time around the cone flowers right now, but they switch between the beebalm and catmint, too.

While this bed is late to bloom every year, by this time in July, it is my favorite bed.  I did a lot of rearranging this spring to get this bed looking cleaner and less crowded, but it was worth it.  

The horsemint looks nice beside the yellow day lilies.  I hope the horsemint gets a little taller though so they are not overshadowed by the lilies

I planted the lavender that we got from Randy and Abby's wedding next to the roses (the little silvery plant to the right).  They should look really nice together and I think they will have enough sun here.  Fingers crossed!