“Black Swallowtail and Missouri Ironweed” by Steven Dominguez

Plant(s): Black Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) and Missouri Ironweed (Veronia Missurica)
Photo Story: Backyard pollinator appreciates native wildflowers
Equipment: IPhone 11
Photo ID: 32804

“My New Friend” by Caitlin Cervenka

Plant(s): Oriole
Photo Story: My partner and I recently moved to my grandparents’ land near Galena, IL. We moved from a trendy Chicago neighborhood to a 90 acre forest – my grandparents’ have been reforesting this land for about 30 years, and it is beautiful, but I do miss my friends a lot. One morning shortly after our move, I was feeling a little lonely and missing my friends from Chicago. Suddenly, my dog started crying at the porch door and I went to inspect. I was surprised and delighted to see this gorgeous male oriole just perched on the door pane. I think he was probably just noticing his reflection. But a part of me hopes and wishes he was just coming to say hi and let me know I do have a friend here, albeit not human, but still delightful. He came back to visit for about a week, every day, same part of the door. I miss him and I hope he is back next year – I’ll be leaving out some grape jelly for sure!
Equipment: Regular old iPhone
Photo ID: 32805

“monarch caterpillar snacking” by Larissa Armstrong

Plant(s): Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata
Photo Story: This picture was taken in my backyard mini prairie patch. The monarch caterpillars LOVE my swamp milkweed plants, and I was lucky enough to catch this one chomping away on a flower bud. I have a great video of it too!
Equipment: iPhone12 camera
Photo ID: 32806

“Common Thread-waisted Wasp on Cut-leaf coneflower” by Diana Green

Plant(s): Eumenes fraternus and Cut-leaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata)
Photo Story: A beautiful day in Central New York. Pollinators all over my coneflowers. I was drawn to this one in particular because of the beautiful black of the wasp against the yellow of the coneflower.
Equipment: SONY RX10
Photo ID: 32807

“Bombus” by Chris Kosin

Plant(s): Bombus impatiens with echinacea purpurea
Photo Story: Bumblebee on Echinacea outside my home in Pittsburgh 2022
Equipment: Pixel 7 phone
Photo ID: 32811

“Giant Swallowtail and echinacea” by Sonya Strenge

Plant(s): Swallowtail and cone flower
Photo Story: I was out tending to my garden and a giant swallowtail was enjoying coneflowers I started from seed several years ago.
Equipment: iPhone
Photo ID: 32813

“Tickseed with a Yellow-Collared Scape Moth” by Joanne Desjardins

Plant(s): Tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata) with Yellow-Collared Scape Moth
Photo Story: This moth settled on a tickseed flower in my backyard.
Equipment: LG Electronics LM-X210 cellphone
Photo ID: 32826

“Milkweed bug” by Cindy Adams-Kornmeyer

Plant(s): Butterfly weed and milkweed bug
Photo Story: These beautiful bugs showed up the second season that grew butterfly weed next to my pond.
Equipment: iPhone 8
Photo ID: 32835

“Fritillary and Friend on Coneflower” by Amanda Smith

Plant(s): Great Spangled Fritillar (Speyeria cybele), Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) on Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Photo Story: This is the first year that we’ve seen a Fritillary butterfly in our yard. Our house already had native violets (Viola sororia) in the yard when we moved in – after a couple years I figured out what they were and we allowed them to spread in areas of our yard that are not mown. We also removed some invasive species and planted more natives in those areas to hopefully attract more pollinators (we now have lots of different bees, wasps, flies, moths, and several new butterflies). I plan on removing even more lawn in the coming years – I can’t wait to see what else will show up!
Equipment: Galaxy S22
Photo ID: 32837

“Bumblebee on Baby Blue Eyes” by Evelyn Sherr

Plant(s): A Black-tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus melanopygus, a Western native bee, Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii), a native wildflower of the Willamette Valley.
Photo Story: I noticed this bumblebee zooming around the patch of Baby Blue Eyes in my urban garden in Eugene Oregon this spring. The bee flew from flower to flower so fast I had a problem getting it in focus – lots of fuzzy shots. But finally the bee rooted into one of the open flowers, which curled around it, and I finally got a good photo. I have seen many other bee, flies and wasp species on flowers in my garden, but this was definitely the cutest.
Equipment: NIKON D810, 300 mm lens
ƒ/5.6 1/800 ISO1600
Photo ID: 32838

“Bumble Bee on Stiff Goldenrod” by Tom Scheidt

Plant(s): Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) on Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida)
Photo Story: Last fall while walking through a Lake County Forest Preserve I was photographing the Stiff Goldenrod in flower and was lucky enough to come across a bee doing what it does best.
Equipment: Nikon D7200, 90mm. F/13, 1/200 sec.
Photo ID: 32840

“Painted Lady on Aster” by Tom Scheidt

Plant(s): Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui
Photo Story: While visiting Port Washington we were walking the bluffs next to Lake Michigan. The fall asters first attracted our attention but then we noticed the butterfly. What a bonus!
Equipment: Nikon D7200, 600mm. F/16, 1/200 sec, ISO 500
Photo ID: 32841

“Bumblebee on Monarda” by Terri Hoehne

Plant(s): Bumblebee, Bee Balm (Monarda)
Photo Story: Taken in my front yard prairie on a beautiful summer’s day
Equipment: Moto G cellphone
Photo ID: 32846

“Monarch’s favorite” by Janet Beimborn

Plant(s): Meadow Blazing star (Liatris Ligulistylis), Sweet Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia Subtometosa)
Photo Story: In mid to late August the Monarch butterflies like to get nectar from Liatris, especially Meadow Blazing Star. We often see two and sometimes three on a single plant. Here one if filling up for the journey to Mexico with Sweet Black Eyed Susan in the background
Equipment: Cannon SX40 camera
Photo ID: 32847

“On The Hunt” by Angelika Brinkmann-Busi

Plant(s): Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) and Crab spider
Photo Story: It took a double take to realize that the small yellow dot in the Hydrangea flower was a Crap spider waiting to catch some prey.
Equipment: Google Pixel 3 phone
Photo ID: 32848

“Busy Bumble Bee” by Ruth Oldenburg

Plant(s): Common Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) on Shrubby St. John’s Wort (Hypericum prolificum)
Photo Story: My large Shrubby St. John’s Wort was a buzz with pollinators in July. I like to watch them busy at their task.
Equipment: iPhone 11Pro
Photo ID: 32850

“Life on Common Milkweed” by Angelika Brinkmann-Busi

Plant(s): Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), Monarch caterpillar, harvestman and moth
Photo Story: While taking pictures of a feeding monarch caterpillar, I realized, that next to it a harvestman was standing over a moth, demonstrating the circle of life. Sadly, the caterpillar was not able to complete its metamorphosis, but became a snack to another hungry creature in the process of transforming into a chrysalis.
Equipment: Google Pixel 3 Phone
Photo ID: 32854

“Monarch Eyes” by allen Clasen

Plant(s): Monarch Butterfly
Photo Story: Barb Cassidy
Equipment: Nikon d7500, 200-500mm Nikon lens
Photo ID: 32859

“Bumble on Hoary Vervain” by Illona Hadley

Plant(s): Hoary Vervain (Verbena stricta)
Photo Story: Hoary Vervain in my backyard are a favorite with Bumblebees.
Equipment: Canon EOS 7D
Photo ID: 32869

“Monarch on Liatris” by Illona Hadley

Plant(s): Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis)
Photo Story: A sunny afternoon at Noelridge Garden the Monarchs were enjoying the Meadow Blazing Star.
Equipment: Canon EOS 7D
Photo ID: 32870

“Ruby Throated Hummingbird at the Friends of North Prairie Native Gardens” by Dawn Marie Staccia

Plant(s): This is either an immature male or adult female ruby throated hummingbird feeding on cardinal flower.
Photo Story: The Friends of North Prairie Native Gardens is a new garden that was established in the spring of 2021.
The gardens are located in the Village of North Prairie’s park. I am one of the volunteers and the garden’s photographer. It took many hours of waiting for the right time to photograph this hummingbird. Patience pays off and I finally got a great shot of one of nature’s beautiful and fascinating pollinators.
Equipment: Canon EOS 80D telephoto 150-600 mm lens
Photo ID: 32876

“But Yet She Persisted” by Laura Stellmacher

Plant(s): Liatris Ligulistylis with monarch
Photo Story: Photo taken in backyard
Equipment: iphone
Photo ID: 32881

“Fiery Skipper on Boneset” by Laurie Martin

Plant(s): Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) on tall boneset (Eupatorium altissimum)
Photo Story: Bright-eyed Fiery Skipper butterfly resting on Tall Boneset (Eupatorium altissimum).
Equipment: Google Pixel 3a XL
ƒ/1.8
1/2132
4.44mm
ISO52
Photo ID: 32884

“Wasp on Monarda” by Laurie Martin

Plant(s): Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus) on wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Photo Story: The radiantly colorful Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus) pops against the soft lavender hue of the wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa).
Equipment: Google Pixel 3a XL
ƒ/1.8
1/2132
4.44mm
ISO53
Photo ID: 32888

“Welcomed Guest” by Laura Stellmacher

Plant(s): Purple coneflower, Black-eyed susan, monarch
Photo Story: Captured in backyard
Equipment: iphone
Photo ID: 32894

“Gray Hairstreak” by David Silsbee

Plant(s): Gray Hairstreak Butterfly on Mountain Mint flower (Pycnanthemum muticum)
Photo Story: The mountain mint in our garden attracts the most diverse collection of insects of any flower we have, but this is the only hairstreak that I have seen there in 10 years.
Equipment: Canon 5D Mark IV, 100 mm macro lens.
Photo ID: 32907

“Great Golden Digger Wasp” by David Silsbee

Plant(s): Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus) on Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
Photo Story: Although intimidating looking, the Great Golden Digger Wasp is not aggressive, and is one of the more spectacular looking insects frequenting our garden.
Equipment: Canon 5D Mark IV, 100 mm macro lens.
Photo ID: 32908

“Group Of Monarchs” by Dawn Marie Staccia

Plant(s): Monarch Butterflies, Purple Coneflower, Early Sunflowers in background
Photo Story: As I was taking photos of monarchs in my native garden, three monarchs descended upon a purple coneflower as to fight for a spot on the flower. That was the exact moment I snapped the photo. Finally, the monarch that was falling off the petals joined the rest of the butterflies.
Equipment: Canon EOS 80D Telephoto lens 150-600mm
Photo ID: 32924

“First Flower” by Ruth Hilfiker

Plant(s): Prairie Willow (Salix humilis) with bumble bee
Photo Story: Prairie Willow is the first native plant in Wisconsin or Minnesota to bloom and the first food for native bumble bees that leave their underground home earlier than any other pollinators. Prairie willow shrubs are planted in my all native landscape.
Equipment: Apple 14 Pro Phone Camera
Photo ID: 32933

“Bumble Bee Last Straw” by Ruth Hilfiker

Plant(s): New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae); Black and gold Bumble Bee (Bombus auricomus)
Photo Story: The queen bumble bee desperately needs nectar late in the fall to make it through the winter. Asters provide the needed nectar and do not die until after a heavy frost. Native bumble bees are better pollinators than European honey bees and much better than butterflies. My backyard prairie has many species of asters to help the native bumble bees.
Equipment: Apple 14 Pro Phone Camera
Photo ID: 32938