Cuckoo Wasp?

I spotted this beautifully colored little flying insect.....

The closest thing I could find is a Cuckoo Wasp.....Am I right?

It was trying to get inside of these little wind chimes, but I think Mud Dabbers might have gotten there first.

Monarch Butterfly

My friend, Debbie, has a nice patch of Milkweed and a couple of Monarchs that fly in an out.  She found one caterpillar and put it in a container….fed it fresh milkweed everyday…until it made it’s cocoon.

This is what it looked like yesterday…around 2pm.  If you look closely…you can see a faint outline of the wings.

This was taken early this morning. It has turned very dark and is getting a lot more transparent. You can see some of the color.

We had a great waffle breakfast at their house this morning and watch….and watched….and watched….

We all had other things to do ..so we brought the container home with us …..I wanted to get a video of it coming out….

we watched…..and watched….

I left the room for awhile and Jim watched….no change other than getting a bit clearer…..Jim left the room for a few minutes…..and you know what happened…before I got out there it had opened and was drying it’s wings. 

I took the container and rode my bike to Debbie’s and put it on one of their milkweed plants.

It sat there for about an hour …then we started seeing some spreading of wings every few minutes.

A few minutes later it climbed up to the flowers…perhaps grabbed a snack and then flew away. I hope it remains in the area and lays an egg and we can have better luck next time. 

We have an idea of what to watch for…but perhaps it saw us as predators and waited for us to leave.

Hummingbird

Evidently my camera or my reflexes are too slow to get good pictures of a Hummingbird….but the video is able to capture it.

I havn’t seen this one lately….just a couple of juveniles or females.

Hummingbird Moth

It’s been awhile since my last post.  We were on vacation in NY,VT,TN & NC.   We had a great time with friends and family.  Even did some some trail riding on horseback. 

I spotted this Hummingbird Moth on my plants. It was kind enough to buzz around for video ..but not for photos.  It likes the Bougainville.

It was also very interested in the Mexican Petunias.  My Mother planted a few of these several years ago. Now they are bordering the road in and popping up around the tree in the backyard.

I’m back to buggin the bugs……chasing them around the yard with a camera.

Brown Anole (Caribbean Anole)

These are not native to Florida.  Only the Green Anole is native to North America.

I believe this is a female….the pattern on it’s back is very pretty.

I thought these plants were milkweed and have been letting them grow..but now they are over 5’ tall and no flowers……I had milkweed planted in this spot for the Monarch Butterflies….if you know what it is…I’d love to know.

They are very tall stalks…and the stalk is fuzzy.

Rabbit

I have 4 rabbits that live around the edges of the yard. Normally they are grazing by themselves…but this morning there were 2 that came up together.

I love it when they look so at ease.

Isn’t it a handsome rabbit?

7.10.10

It’s been awhile since my last post.  We just got back from a short trip on the St Johns River.

I spotted this bird in the back yard. It’s not a graceful bird….seemed kind of clumsy in it’s travel from branch to branch.

I think it might be a Great Crested Flycatcher.

I think I can see faint yellow on it’s belly.  In this photo you can see the crest.