As July fades into August you can feel everything winding down, going into autumn mode. The milkweed and thistle plants have largely been pollinated and have started going to seed. Aphid populations have grown so dense that they are producing winged aphids (alates) that can leave the nest, so to speak; and ladybugs in all stages of life, as well as orb-weaving spiders, are still around to prey on them.
There are still some late-blooming monarch caterpillars, but fully grown monarch butterflies have been out and about for a while. Meanwhile, other species are even further along. The skeletonizing leaf beetles are nearing the end of their life cycle; most of them are pregnant now, getting ready to lay eggs that will hatch in the spring. The tussock moth caterpillars are just getting big. They’ll pupate over the winter and hatch next year.
I also found several insects that I have yet to identify! If anyone recognizes them, let me know.
(Click on any image to enter a full-screen slideshow.)
Red goldenrod aphids (Uroleucon nigrotuberculatum). You can see one giving birth—about halfway down the stem on the left side.
Red milkweed beetles (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) goin’ at it. I haven’t seen any babies though.
Ladybugs goin’ at it on a milkweed leaf.
Ladybug larva feeding on conveniently located yellow milkweed aphids.
Tortoise beetle larva (Cassinidae), slightly more grown up than last time. It still carries a protective shield of its own excrement.
