Bugs of Summer

This American snout butterfly lays eggs on the huge hackberry in the parkway. Nothing can resist a common milkweed!

It’s July and the garden is literally humming. As the milkweed flowering peters out, the echinacea has kicked in, bringing another round of bugs to the garden.

Planting a wide variety of types of flowers from itty bitty umbellate to big and bodacious monarda, means lots of different types of insects have come to pay a call and sometimes stay for lunch. I’m sure there were monarch caterpillars on the milkweed at some point, but the diverse wasp population has been busy hunting.

We had at least nine black swallowtail caterpillars on the bronze fennel. This year I planted up the porch boxes with it, purple kohlrabi, pink angelonia, and white petunias with pink centers. I also threw in some flat-leaf parsley since these are right outside the kitchen door. The swallowtail chose the fennel for her eggs. They seem to prefer the curly parsley for the kids.

There are two wee black swallowtail caterpillars in this photo. Can you find them?

For a few days we watched over the swallowtail caterpillars as they matured into little globs of brown bird poop. Things insects do to avoid predation! Alas, one morning I watched an eastern yellowjacket deliberately stalking each fennel frond. It was hunting caterpillars for its larvae and didn’t care whether they resembled bird droppings in the slightest. It was fascinating to watch the thoroughness of this insect who was oblivious to its human observer. Needless to say, we were soon bereft of caterpillars.

My philosophy is to plant the plants and let Mother Nature take its course. These critters have co-evolved for thousands of years, so have a variety of strategies to keep their populations going. I’ll cheerfully provide the habitat and let y’all do your thing.

I’m not saving or rescuing or bringing in caterpillars to raise. There’s more and more research about the risks of rearing butterflies in captivity and how it not only creates situations for aggravated diseases, but preserves genetics that may ultimately harm the population at large. Not a big deal if you raise a handful, but the birds, wasps, ambush bugs, garter snakes, toads, and what-have-you all need to eat too. And I’ll keep looking for those precious fascinating interactions while planting more plants.

This jagged ambush bug is snacking on a fly. Go buddy go!