My mom took a picture of a larva the other day climbing the wall in her house. What is remarkable is that the markings on the larva make it appear as if it has a happy smile. Honestly, no photoshop involved. Pretty cool!
We are both wondering what type of larva this is? We are fairly certain it is a caterpillar but are wondering what type of butterfly it will be. Does any one know? Please share your thoughts.
Antje
Having humming birds in my garden is a great enjoyment. From their perch, these tiny birds keep a constant eye on their surroundings. With agility and speed, hummingbirds launch at any intruder and after a quick battle the birds return to their perch and are on the lookout again.
A hummingbird’s speed and agility, squeaky chatter, and buzzing sound make them unique and amazing. They are guided by visual means and are attracted to certain shades of red as many red coloured flowers happen to be good sources of nectar.
The following plants are some of the hummingbird’s favourites:
Annuals: Begonia, impatients, canna (red), cosmos, zinnia, petunia, salvia (red), fuschia
Perennials: Columbine, bleeding heart, hollyhock (red), delphinium (dark colours), bee balm
Shrubs: Buddleia, Weigelia
Vines: Honey suckle, red morning glory (annual fast growing vine which produces flowers throughout summer), cardinal climber (annual)
Also, think of adding water, a waterfall with its trickling and splashing water sounds will act like a magnet for humming birds.
By making these changes to your garden you too can enjoy watching humming birds dart in and out of the flowers drinking your morning coffee.
Lori
Butterflies exist naturally over most of the areas of our continent, although species vary from region to region.
By planting flowering plants that are their favourite food sources we can easily attract the local population of butterflies to become regular visitors to our gardens. Butterflies are guided by scents and smells. Certain flowers give off a fragrance that butterflies find attractive. A welcoming garden for butterflies should include some of the following:
Annuals: Petunia, nasturtium, heliotrope, snapdragon, sweet alyssum, verbena, and nicotania
Perennials: Yarrow, columbine, lavender, coreopsis, dianthus, echinacea, and globe thistle
Remember, a butterfly is the adult stage of an insect that starts as a caterpillar, so remember no caterpillar no butterfly. If you use insecticide in your garden you may kill caterpillars.
If they don’t show up right away, don’t give up looking. In the mean time enjoy the flowers.
Good luck and have fun!
Lori
This is a reply to a comment posted by JD on an earlier post. JD said that “Grubs are wearing my lawn out” and asked for my thoughts. So here goes JD, specially for you.
Beatle grubs often make the best looking lawns look terrible, full of yellow spots, not what you want for your lawn, eh?
You can treat your lawn with Nematodes (you can find more information on this by doing a Google search) which should be applied to affected areas early morning using a watering can or pump sprayer. The Nematodes will kill the grubs that are killing your lawn.
Good Luck JD!!
It’s something I have been wondering about for a while, what do ladybirds eat?
I’m sure it’s a common question so I posted the question over at a gardening website I occasionally visit
http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/viewtopic.php?p=80931#80931
Hopefully I just get some good answers from there!
