We see it all in the Fall. There's a remnant of spring in the new yellow rose buds, a touch of summer in the white rose flower, and a bit of fall in the orange rosehips, all on the same branch of a rose. If you look carefully, you'll see that there is also a praying mantis hanging from the rose, looking at me as I happily snapped pictures for the upcoming Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. What? The praying mantis is trying to tell me something? I wonder. Really? The praying mantis has a … [Read more...] about We see it all in the Fall, and hear a new secret
insects
Auditioning insects
Fall, and the insects line up on the flowers like actresses and actors at an open audition. They hover, waiting to be noticed, to be discovered. Who will be the big star, who will be the next "glamour bug" to be featured on a blog, or in a magazine article, or even in a book? "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up." Some like this un-named waspy type insect with that menacing stinger are more suited to tough guy roles. "We'll call you if we need you. Security, please watch this … [Read more...] about Auditioning insects
Garden Fairies Guest Post: Mowing in the Gloaming
Garden fairies here! We have some stuff to write about, and we are garden fairies so we are going to do just that. You will never believe what Carol did on the longest day of the year. By the way, we are garden fairies and the longest day of the year, the summer solstice, is one of our favorite days of the year. We have a big party to celebrate, starting just as soon as it starts to get dark, in the gloaming, as we call it. “Gloaming” – look it up and you’ll see that it is a magical time … [Read more...] about Garden Fairies Guest Post: Mowing in the Gloaming
Ants
When I think of spring's arrival, I like to think of crocuses, sounding the all clear to alert the other flowers in my garden that it is time to come out and bloom. "The weather is fine, come out and bloom." But sometimes spring's beginning is announced by tiny brown ants that show up in my kitchen. "Where are the crumbs?" I’ve never kept track of when the ants arrive each year, like I keep track of blooms, but I suspect the ants will be along in a few weeks. Now, if one is going to have … [Read more...] about Ants
Seeking Direction?
Another fascinating bit of insect lore, gleaned from the pages of “Insect Friends and Foes” by William Atherton DuPuy (1925). The mantis knows the way! “Its very name, mantis, means diviner, or fortune-teller. The English call it a soothsayer and old-fashioned people over there believe that its long finger will point the way home to a lost child. In France young women go to the crossroads and ask the mantis from which way their lovers will come.” Now which direction is the mantis pointing … [Read more...] about Seeking Direction?
Our Insect Friends and Foes
I recently purchased a new-to-me book on entomology, "Our Insect Friends and Foes" by William Atherton DuPuy (The John C. Winston Company, 1925). It is part of a Romance of Science series of books. I've always advocated for gardeners to learn to like insects, or at least learn enough about them so that when they see them, they don't scream, drop their Felco's and run the other direction as fast as they can. No doubt, even running the other direction, or any direction, in a garden, one is going … [Read more...] about Our Insect Friends and Foes
