Lunching On the Stars
Blazing stars are blooming in the pine barrens and meadows. Lots of different insect species are vying for a share of their nectar. Butterflies are the most noticeable. On Wednesday, in the pine barrens up north, the pearly-eyes were all over the purple flowers. Saturday, in the meadows, there were more pearly-eyes, a Leonard’s skipper, fritillaries, a northern crescent, and, most noticeable, monarchs. Other bugs were taking their turn, particularly bees.
The yellow flowers are a type of sunflower - I think. I posed a question to Google’s AI Mode, hoping to identify the species. The best Google could do was narrow the search to the genus Heliopsis, which includes several sunflower species. It didn’t mention Helianthus, which also includes species that look like sunflowers. I will settle for simply sunflowers. Whatever the species, the yellow sunflowers go well with the purple blazing stars.
Photo Of the Week
Panorama of Crex Meadows State Wildlife Area looking south from Crex Ridge Road
Other photography from last week.
