Makin' bees happy

I happened to have this big red-and-green hummingbird feeder on hand so I hung it up first for the hummers. Then I thought about hanging a "one shotter" for the bees from the feeder's big red flowers. Perfect! The bees loved it. So I added another mini, then another. The bees love all three! So much that they seem to be leaving our other hummer feeders alone. Yay!

New-to-me native

This leggy little plant grows in one of our backyard beds. I sent photos to my plant expert Jerry, and he said it looks to be a Venus looking-glass (Triodanis perfoliata). I agree! It's an annual in the bellflower family. Not a fancy species at all, but the small bloom is so pretty.

Welcome to the world, little mantid

Lurking on the yarrow bloom...It's a big ol' world out there!

 

Native passionflowers

Passiflora tenuiloba    (Given to us by friends Ron and Linda...grows in Blanco County)

Passiflora incarnata  (Purchased at a Llano plant sale)

Passiflora lutea (Transplanted wild from adjoining neighbor's yard...definitely from Blanco County! Ignore the seedling; likely a hackberry that's gone now. )

Darn, I realized I don't have Passiflora affinis. I need to put that species on my wish list!

Herbs for caterpillars

A fennel plant for black swallowtail caterpillars.

Two of our three rues bit the dust so I planted three more. Some plants came with black swallowtail caterpillars. Fun!

Stock tank pond update

We love the new parrotfeather. So pretty!

Two of my many new gambusias, hanging out near the dwarf water lily.

Two beetles, pesky and pretty

Two years ago, I blogged about "Life on a silverleaf," which shared about the critters who host on the species. Today, I got some nice photos of eggplant tortoise beetles on some silverleaf nightshades. They're such a pretty beetle.

Then I got a photo or two of this pesky beetle that's been eating our heartleaf scullcap. It's some species of flea beetle in the genus Phyllobrotica. The beetles aren't completely destroying the plants so I'm letting them be.