Quick poll how does everyone feel about GMOs?

Leafhead comments on Jun 22, 2018:

Say NO to GMOs

Quick poll how does everyone feel about GMOs?

Leafhead comments on Jun 22, 2018:

GMOS are our ruination. They allow farmers to broadcast poisons like Roundup which don't touch the GMO but kills everything around it. And then we eat it! Say NO to GMOs

Chipmunk in the wire!!!!! We really like our chipmunks.

Leafhead comments on Jun 21, 2018:

Invite predators like foxes to your property. If you are in an appropriate region of the US, a strategically placed rat snake or two will drive them off for good! I unfortunately am too far north, but southern and NE folks can try this. Just let the corn snakes slither into the holes and *voila* no more munks

As seen in a winery in Abingdon VA. I thought it worked quite well

Leafhead comments on Jun 21, 2018:

But everyone knows that it is *beer* that makes you smart. It made Bud wiser!!

Sketch of a Pan I later tattooed on a friend

Leafhead comments on Jun 21, 2018:

Sweet ink

Are you the kind of person who could forgive two-faced people?

Leafhead comments on Jun 21, 2018:

I make good and sure two faced people don't exist to me

Tiny toad. This little fellow is about half an inch from nose to rump.

Leafhead comments on Jun 21, 2018:

<3 toads and frogs

Good morning. Here's some wtf

Leafhead comments on Jun 20, 2018:

What do you do on Monday and Tuesday? (WTF)

1.90 inches of rain yesterday.... this morning the first Calla lily bloom appears:

Leafhead comments on Jun 20, 2018:

I love Callas. Aroids have always been special to me. Next to butterflies, Araceae is one of my favorite things in Nature

I think I am completely insane, but maybe not?

Leafhead comments on Jun 20, 2018:

It's a toss up for me. Job scenario I Washing dishes as a second job for some snobby, snotty bitchy little queen. When I was finally caught up on my bills, I resigned, and was promptly cursed out! Job scenario II Working the same job for 8 and a half years wasn't bad. It was good work, and decent pay. I liked my job a lot. But when my boss began mixing religion with cocaine things got really screwy there. Within three months, I was going to med tech school to get a solid job.

From my fathers garden

Leafhead comments on Jun 20, 2018:

Reminds me of my Mor-Mor (maternal grandmother, Norwegian style). She was quite accomplished with a brush. She tried to teach me to no avail. I'm better off painting walls! Anyway, I got her gardening bug, and it stuck since. Painting and Geraniums were her faves!

We had some crazy rain and hail storms yesterday and this little hackberry emporer butterfly took a ...

Leafhead comments on Jun 20, 2018:

Poor little guy! Hope he has a better day now :)

[facebook.com] not mine but I love this beauty

Leafhead comments on Jun 20, 2018:

She looks fat and full of eggs too! A nice boy toy and it's off to the nearest birch! (or Liquidambar, depending on the region)

I just squealed like a little girl.

Leafhead comments on Jun 20, 2018:

OMG is that Lucas? My, he sure has grown lol

A watched pot means the cops know where you're growing your stash.

Leafhead comments on Jun 19, 2018:

Oh shit!!

Is everyone else here as appalled as I am at what is going on at our southern border?

Leafhead comments on Jun 19, 2018:

Donald Trump thoroughly disgusts me. He had bastardized the highest office in the land. He must be stopped at ALL COSTS!

How to find a baby monarch caterpillar: It is possible to raise monarchs from eggs, and many ...

Leafhead comments on Jun 19, 2018:

That is very interesting. I keep an eye on eggs for 4-5 days and then collect when they black tip or are newly hatched. A black tip is an egg ready to hatch. It is sort of translucent with a black tip. This is actually the black head of the new caterpillar. I place larvae and eggs in a container like the one shown, on their original foliage. It is fun to watch the new larvae hatch, and even eat the eggshell! As they get bigger in about 2-3 days, I switch out for fresh Milkweed.

I know these are probably best suited for a different group, but I'm in enough groups now.

Leafhead comments on Jun 19, 2018:

You're in good company

On this father's day, here is a very cheesy Dad joke: A polar bear walks into a bar.

Leafhead comments on Jun 19, 2018:

*Moaning in backround*

A weird scene I encountered in the woods of Bald Eagle State Forest: five, dead, red-spotted purples...

Leafhead comments on Jun 19, 2018:

Sad. RSP's are one of my top faves!

An ebony jewelwing damselfly snacking on a mayfly.

Leafhead comments on Jun 19, 2018:

Awesome!

Yippee! I am finally starting to see some results.

Leafhead comments on Jun 19, 2018:

Exciting!! You must be fairly up north to be just now seeing babies!. I like to use overturned square vases atop paper towels. On the paper towel, I place a saucer with a chunk of wet floral foam. I'll then insert the stem of a Milkweed top or leaf into this, and it will stay fresh for about 3 days or until eaten. Larger in stars (5) I keep in an aquarium.

Flinstones

Leafhead comments on Jun 19, 2018:

I'd love to be "Flintstoned" right about now...

Milkweed pests in central Illinois.

Leafhead comments on Jun 17, 2018:

Earwigs. A common garden pest that goes mostly for flowers and new growth. One of few insects to tolerate Milkweed. Will NOT invade brain thru ear canal lol

Shelly had a romp out in the yard today.

Leafhead comments on Jun 17, 2018:

Should have done that with my gopher tortoise growing up-Speedy. I turned around for two seconds, and like a 2 yr old he was gone :(

Today it hit 90° here in southern Ohio.

Leafhead comments on Jun 17, 2018:

I would like to personally thank you for poisoning my home. Knock it off, please. We all have to share the planet, and using poison in place of hard work is not only detrimental to us all, but it is downright lazy.

A really fat happy ground hog has found my tomato plants. Anyone know of any repellents that work?

Leafhead comments on Jun 17, 2018:

A shotgun comes to mind

Habitat garden is starting to attract our favorite creatures:

Leafhead comments on Jun 17, 2018:

Fantastic! Hope you get lots of butterflies and bees this year

“A.

Leafhead comments on Jun 17, 2018:

2001: A Space Odyssey (the sequel) The ending really blew my mind.

You've met my beardie? Ziggy Stardust. Got to grab her leash and take her out later. :)

Leafhead comments on Jun 17, 2018:

Love the name!! RIP David

So! The habitat garden expansion.

Leafhead comments on Jun 17, 2018:

Depending on where you are. Black Eyed and Brown Eyed Susans, Liatris, Echinacea, Veronica, Salvia, Zinnias, Lupines and Tithonia in sun as nectar plants. Joe Pye is excellent Milkweed (Swamp, Butterfly, Purple, Whorled, Showy or Common), Pussytoes, Everlasting, Passionvine, Cassia, Fennell/Dill/Parsly/Golden Alexander, Spicebush and Aristolochia in sun as host plants. Shade includes Asclepias exaltata, or Poke Milkweed, Nettles, Virginia Bluebells, Dicentra, Jacob's Ladder and Jack in the Pulpit

My very first of 2018

Leafhead comments on Jun 17, 2018:

I checked last night and again this morning, and I have 4 more chrysalis due to open today. The joy of butterfly season!

Chilling on some Thread Leaf Coreopsis, this American Lady was so enraptured in nectar that he ...

Leafhead comments on Jun 15, 2018:

Here's a better pic of Vanessa virginiensis

I’ve been watching this mutant grow for 2 weeks.

Leafhead comments on Jun 14, 2018:

Good thing you got rid of it. It was your POD!!!

My last promethea cocoon eclosed today. The result: a spectacular female.

Leafhead comments on Jun 14, 2018:

Gorgeous!

Finally getting some rain in Texas. We've had very little measurable rain since September!

Leafhead comments on Jun 13, 2018:

Good

Tithonia from my 2014 garden.

Leafhead comments on Jun 13, 2018:

Monarchs' favorite annual, by far

Another one of my favourite films is Gattaca (1997).

Leafhead comments on Jun 13, 2018:

No kidding! That's the way it seems to be heading with the powerful insurance lobby. It's really screwing up medicAL advances

Centipede we found this morning. Maybe we with bugs too much? Nah....

Leafhead comments on Jun 13, 2018:

That's a millipede, not a centipede. Millipede eat leaf litter and have more legs. Centipedes are carnivorous, have less legs and run really fast.

More than enough milkweed! The attached pictures show only two of several groupings of common ...

Leafhead comments on Jun 13, 2018:

Good for you, and welcome to a wonderful journey thru butterfly gardening :) It's so important for everyone of us to do something for the declining Monarch population. Thank you for your generosity. For those opposed to or repulsed by the looks and behavior of Common Milkweed and some others, there are "face men" like Butterfly Weed and Swamp Milkweed which do not spread underground and are more appealing to the average gardener. Tell a friend. Involve neighbors. Family, too. We have got to go pesticide free and bring back pollinators and other important and remarkable Arthropods.

Swallowtails in central Illinois.

Leafhead comments on Jun 13, 2018:

You have some really cooperative models, and some beauties!! I look forward to flight #2 here to the north in WI.

I just couldn't resist this one. Lol!!!!

Leafhead comments on Jun 13, 2018:

Relax, little buddy, I'm a CARNIVORE!

My children are masters of nonsense. Mutated Mickey

Leafhead comments on Jun 13, 2018:

Wonderfully weird kids! Love it!

All 11 keets hatched I had to help a few of the last ones that where running out of time.

Leafhead comments on Jun 13, 2018:

Sweet! Do you raise them as pest control or pets? My big crush years back was Button Quail. Probably the cutest little chick's you'll ever see. And very, very fragile.

Hate when that happens!

Leafhead comments on Jun 13, 2018:

That's my neighbor all damn DAY LOLOL

A doctor reaches for a pen to write a prescription and pulls out a rectal thermometer ?

Leafhead comments on Jun 9, 2018:

Lol

The Black Swallowtail caterpillars are growing rapidly.

Leafhead comments on Jun 9, 2018:

Somehow I missed them this year. Hopefully I'll get some from the next flight

Spiffed up Murray the Monitor's bioactive setup. Some zebra isopods at work. Pothos and vermiliad.

Leafhead comments on Jun 9, 2018:

What do the isopods do?

I have a Carpenter Bee in an old snag. Cute little bugger.

Leafhead comments on Jun 8, 2018:

Useful too. Native pollinators like mason bees, carpenter bees and others are invaluable workers in the garden.

Papaya seedlings are popping up

Leafhead comments on Jun 8, 2018:

Male Papaya flowers are sought after by female Zebra Longwing butterflies. It's the pollen they are after. Only Heliconiid butterflies can use pollen in egg production. A female typically lives up to 8 Mos because of the extra OOF-DA provided by pollen. Other faves include Cucurbit flowers (male)

So. What do you all think? Stir Fry?

Leafhead comments on Jun 8, 2018:

At least! Squab anyone?

This is a very pretty little moth called The Hebrew (Polygrammate hebraeicum).

Leafhead comments on Jun 8, 2018:

I see it!! Pretty little Noctuid

As soon as I got off work I put my Chicago hardy fig in the ground.

Leafhead comments on Jun 8, 2018:

God hates figs Mark 11:13

My sweet little rescue dog is allergic to grass.

Leafhead comments on Jun 8, 2018:

Dichondra?

Anyone need a new coffee mug? ☺

Leafhead comments on Jun 8, 2018:

<3 it!!

More facts about the Santa Fe mass killings.

Leafhead comments on Jun 8, 2018:

Lock'em up!!

Release the butterflies!! ...

Leafhead comments on Jun 7, 2018:

The Malachite at the end... I remember those from South Florida. Almost bought a rundown property with a colony of Malachites, just for the butterflies! Beautiful.

Canada legalizes it All eyes on Canada as first G7 nation prepares to make marijuana legal From ...

Leafhead comments on Jun 7, 2018:

Go Canada!!

Newly hatched Polyphemus moth caterpillars.

Leafhead comments on Jun 7, 2018:

Here's hoping for Melanistics in 2020

More goodness

Leafhead comments on Jun 6, 2018:

Legalize Marijuana now!

Yesterday (I think) I mentioned to one of my favorite Agnostics that I hadn't seen any garter snakes...

Leafhead comments on Jun 5, 2018:

No garden is complete without one.

Save our fireflies ??

Leafhead comments on Jun 5, 2018:

Fireflies are a welcome addition to my gardens, along with other insect fauna. I can think of no more magical way to usher in the warm summer months. Most people don't know, but firefly larvae feed on slugs and snails

Any idea's?

Leafhead comments on Jun 5, 2018:

Mulberries

Sharing photo a friend sent me, sure is a beautiful Rose.

Leafhead comments on Jun 5, 2018:

Is that it's true color, or was dye involved?

I was so happy to see a bunch of brown and white caterpillars on the dill weed over the weekend! ...

Leafhead comments on Jun 5, 2018:

Excellent! I have yet to collect one Black Swallowtail caterpillar! I saw a female earlier flitting around Queen Anne's Lace, but she didn't leave any eggs that I could find. I am hoping for Tigers as well. Here's a pic from last year's adventures...

Needed this laugh!!!! [facebook.com]

Leafhead comments on Jun 4, 2018:

Why does he look like Popeye or American Dad?

Saw this beauty hanging around my daughter's apartment yesterday. She / he (?

Leafhead comments on Jun 4, 2018:

Gorgeous!

What do you find helps to promote drainage in mostly grey clay soil?

Leafhead comments on Jun 4, 2018:

Peat, sand and humus will loosen up that clay

Nessie in the grass and a tiny gecko I ushered outside. ? these things make me smile.

Leafhead comments on Jun 4, 2018:

Sweet

Thers's no ryhme or raisin to wine jokes...just grape expectations

Leafhead comments on Jun 4, 2018:

No Rhyne or raisin sounds better LOL

Got the strawberry tree, 3 mangoes, the soursap, and the Southern Home grape vine planted and quite ...

Leafhead comments on Jun 4, 2018:

Strawberry tree! How lucky you are! I remember when there was one at BCC in Davie on campus there. I fell in love, but nobody was carrying it yet. It was too rare.

I will never have pics because it is always to dark for a when they come out but I saw 2 beaver ...

Leafhead comments on Jun 3, 2018:

My problem: lousy models! I can never get a butterfly to sit still long enough to capture it! My best bet is cool mornings when they aren't so active and basking. Here's a shot from 2017

Can anyone guess what this is?

Leafhead comments on Jun 3, 2018:

If you were all hungry birds, you would have been duped into avoiding a tasty meal. This is not a bumblebee;it's a harmless FLY This ruse is a classic example of Batesian Mimicry

Hi Left head.

Leafhead comments on Jun 3, 2018:

My "Green Army" for 2018 Milkweed and pollinator friendly plant distribution. Pictured, Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed), Fennell and the remainder of my Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum). I gave away 50 Butterfly weed, 20 Anise Hyssop and all 23 Golden Alexander (Zizzia aurea) today. Plants distributed among three townships. No more flats! Everything is in 4" pots now. Yay!

I have a purple robe locust tree near my house.

Leafhead comments on Jun 3, 2018:

Cut suckers and paint with industrial strength Roundup. That'll take the whole tree out without damaging anything else around it. That's how we treat invasives here like Buckthorn and Japanese Honeysuckle.

Saw these young ladies playing on the road this morning as I was driving to work.

Leafhead comments on Jun 3, 2018:

Oh, deer!

Hi Left head.

Leafhead comments on Jun 2, 2018:

You bet and welcome! There will be fabulous pix and info as the season wears on.

Beautiful butterfly

Leafhead comments on Jun 2, 2018:

One Viceroy to another...

A perfect male io moth who came to my blacklights, tonight.

Leafhead comments on Jun 2, 2018:

Gorgeous!

Is This Milkweed?

Leafhead comments on Jun 1, 2018:

Lantana, an excellent nectar source for many butterflies and pollinators Likes full sun, hot and well drained

Promethea moths (Callosamia promethea) are a day flying silk moth that create very distinctive ...

Leafhead comments on May 31, 2018:

Gorgeous! Here's a male Polyphemus my friend found as a cocoon

Has anybody ever grown any of these?

Leafhead comments on May 31, 2018:

I have a black cherry in my front yard. It attracts Tiger Swallowtail, Red Spotted Purples and all kinds of birds. Black Callas are a favorite. The so called Bat Orchid is not an orchid, but a member of the Amyrillidaceae family. Treat similar to Spathiphyllum.

How do German physicists drink beer?

Leafhead comments on May 31, 2018:

Why cannot you hear a psychiatrist going to the bathroom? Because the P is silent!

'La Jetée'

Leafhead comments on May 31, 2018:

For me it was Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It didn't really promote deep thought, but I now know the answer to life, the Universe and everything!

Are there places you can purchase monarchs eggs and raise for release?

Leafhead comments on May 30, 2018:

A better plan would to purchase or collect Milkweed plants or seed and attract your own. You can purchase seeds and plugs thru Monarch Watch and other organizations. Results vary depending upon your surroundings but rule of thumb is the more (Milkweed) the merrier. Areas such as sterile "green deserts", the sprayed, manicured lawn, will not do for butterflies. The first act should be to swear off all pesticides. I like to involve neighbors as well to maximize coverage. If you live near a park or other green space, you will attract butterflies quicker.

I'm wrapping up the build of our new house and have turned my attention to the landscaping as it is ...

Leafhead comments on May 29, 2018:

Shade? For Monarch Butterflies I recommend Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata).

Geranium Sanguineum.

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

We have those here. We call them Cranes bill for the long seed pods

Pretty moths from last night: rosy maple moth, lemon plais, furcula, and one of the prominents, but...

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

That first one is just dreamy

One of my spidey babies with a satellite snack

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

What species spider?

Okay, it's still maybe not fit for this group; but I'ma share anyway... Barnswallow nest update:

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

Birds are critters too. Welcome, Nature lover!

This morning's group for release.

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

Beautiful! Here's a Polyphemus

[success.

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

Jumping spiders as a whole (Lucas inspiration to be sure) are great spokesmen for spiders! They are amazingly smart, for a spider, fascinating to watch and completely non threatening. Very cute spiders. I'm just glad that Lucas isn't a North Woods Wolf Spider or a Huntsman!

@insectra do you know what this guy is? Or anyone? Lol

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

One of the Syrphids, or Hover Flies. Their larvae look like boogers and eat aphids. Adults visit many flowers and are minor pollinators. Favorite nectar and pollen sources are members of the Carrot Family (Apiaceae). Syrphids are good to have around, along with Lacewings, Lady birds and Braconids wasps

How will I feed my critters! True story.

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

That is why I relish the dandelions, violets, creeping Charlie and white Clover in the lawn. Free, early nectar. Something for the early butterflies and bees to feast upon.

I had to move an obstinate little reptile off of the road today. How did he show his gratitude?

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

Lol

My first male Actias dubernardi, from the latest group of caterpillars, to eclose.

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

Gorgeous moths indeed! Lunas are on my bucket list of leps I want to see in the wild.

A new species of Saturniid for my sheet: Callosamia promethea, the Promethea moth.

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

My recent contribution to Saturniidae Meet "Buddy", the Polyphemus Moth

There were 3 flying around each other. I don't know I see butterflies on or near the manure piles

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

Male butterflies will often visit mud or manure seeking the mineral building blocks for male pheromones. Males will patrol an area for females and rival males, whereas a female will nectar or oviposit. Females rarely visit the ground if ever. Females have more blue in the hind wings

My native stick insect eggs have started to hatch! I had almost given up hope that they would.

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

Super cute! They remind me of the Florida Mantis I used to raise with my sister

Spots and stripes: grape leaffolder (Desmia funeralis), the scallop shell (Rheumaptera undulata), ...

Leafhead comments on May 28, 2018:

Finally, a site for an odd duck like me! Every year I vote which is the coolest bug of the season in my garden. Last year it was a Dark Form Tiger Swallowtail. The year before, a Wasp Mimic Mantisfly. A dead ringer for Polistes! This year who knows?