Visiting Sumac

  Dwarf sumac was in bloom this past week along the north side of the Wetlands. There were many insects visiting the tiny greenish flowers. Here, in the photos below, are a handful of those visitors.       Carpenter bees drill holes in trees, or the wood facia or siding of your house, creating separate chambers within the tunnels, and stocking each chamber with pollen and nectar. They lay an egg in each chamber and seal it off. The young thatRead more
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Some Serendipitous Sightings

Top Photo: Monarch butterfly caterpillar on butterflyweed. While searching for harvester caterpillars on alder in the Wetlands I came across an assassin bug on one of the leaves. The bug was just about 3/4 inches (the body) and mostly green with brown on the back. Assassin bugs typically station themselves at a location which is busy with insects to wait and pounce on prey. They poke the prey with their long proboscis and suck them dry. An alder with aphidsRead more

A Little Break from the Turtles and Bluebirds

Although Passion Vine (Passsiflora incarnata), or Maypops, grows readily in our area it is not always as obvious as you might think having such a showy flower. It doesn’t seem to climb as well as Trumpet Vine or Coral Honeysuckle and is often found sprawling on the ground or across and through other vegataion, hiding it from view. Maypops plays host to several tropical species of butterfly which, unfortunately for us here in North Carolina, occur mainly in Florida. TheRead more

A Trip to the Mountains?

Thinking of going to the mountains to check out the fall leaves? Why waste precious fuel, money, and time (detouring around rock slides) when you can come to the Museum of Life + Science and see some of the most beautiful colors nature has to offer right here in your own backyard. Don’t believe me? Have a peek below. Convinced? Even if you miss the peak colors, there’s always something going on out-of-doors, up beyond the Main Plaza (where Grayson’sRead more