Who are you?

I admit it.  The first time a hummingbird moth buzzed past me in my garden, I thought it was a baby hummingbird.  I watched closely, trying to follow this speedy little creature as it hovered and zoomed between flowers.  I noticed its long curved proboscis curling in and out as it collected nectar from our flowers, and I realized it must be some kind of butterfly or moth.

Curly proboscis finds nectar

Meet the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. Sure enough, these little moths are considered hummingbird mimics, and act in many of the same ways that hummingbirds do.   However, their life cycle is completely different, as they are moths, not birds!

Enjoying some Mexican Hyssop

In the fall, the caterpillars burrow into the soil to spend the winter as a brown, hard shelled pupae.  As spring days grow warmer, they emerge as adult moths.  The moths lay their little green eggs on the underside of leaves.   These eggs will hatch in about a week, and take about four weeks to become full sized caterpillars.  In Canada, the moths usually only go through one breeding cycle per year.

Bee balm is their all time favourite in my garden

Invite Hummingbird Moths to Your Garden. It’s easy!   Two very hardy, long-blooming and beautiful flowers are absolute favourites of these beauties.    Plant some Red Bee Balm and Mexican Hyssop, sit back, and enjoy the show!

The post It’s Not a Hummingbird…But What is it? appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Want wildlife to come to your garden?  Plant purple coneflowers!

Aren’t I gorgeous?

Honey bee collecting pollen

Purple Coneflowers, also known as Echinacea purpurea are absolutely loaded with pollen.   So besides being gorgeous, they are like a giant dinner table for all kinds of critters.

Butterflies love them

Look how this butterfly is eating with its curvy proboscis.

Dinner is served

This one is giving me the eye while it eats.    Have you ever looked closely at a butterfly eye?   They are fascinating.   But I digress.

This butterfly looks like a little dead leaf

I cannot tell you how much butterflies love these flowers.

Skipper

By early afternoon each day, when the sun has warmed things up, my garden is alive with butterflies, bees, and lots more.

Grasshopper

I am not sure if this grasshopper is having a meal, or waiting for one to stop by, but one thing is for sure, grasshoppers love these flowers.

Ambush bug stalking a honey bee

Life’s little dramas play out over and over again, as so many creatures find this flower irresistible.

American Goldfinch eating coneflower seeds

Purple coneflower seeds make great bird food, too, as the summer and the flowers begin to fade.

blooming wonder

Plant a garden full of these easy care, beautiful native flowers.

Set the table 

You will not be disappointed!

The post The Number One Flower for Attracting Just About Everything appeared first on Leslie Abram Photography.

Dragonfly

Come take a walk in my garden.

Rudbeckia

My flower garden has been designed specifically in order to attract wildlife.   Flowers such as these rudbeckia provide seeds for birds in the fall.

Purple coneflower on grass

Purple coneflowers attract bees and butterflies in the summer, and goldfinches in the fall, who devour their seeds.

Morning dew on purple coneflower

Here’s a new purple coneflower, just coming out.

Morning grasshopper

I get all kinds of tiny visitors to the garden.  Last week,  little fresh grasshoppers were all over the place.

Grasshopper moult

I even found a skin that one had moulted.

Assassin

Meet the assassin bug, who lies in wait until an unsuspecting insect crosses its path, then captures it and uses its long proboscis to ingest its prey.

Honeysuckle vine

I have a number of vines around the garden, including honeysuckle.  Hummingbirds love them!   Their tendrils curve and wrap around anything they can climb up.  They also hold a drop of water in spectacular fashion.

Coreopsis line up

This is coreopsis, or tickseed.   The seeds are another favourite of birds in the fall.   I love the colours, and how it blooms all summer.

This is summer

Summer.  A time to enjoy the small wonders just out the back door.  Look closely, you never know what you might find.

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