22 August, 2025
We had promised Pam a return visit to SpruceHaven in order to see more of the splendour of the place, and to meet Dave.
As soon as we got out of the car, I spotted a Western Honeybee (Apis mellifera) on the ground, apparently foraging.
This aroused my curiosity. The surface there was moist; was it seeking water, or do honey bees prospect for minerals? There seems to be remarkably little in the literature on this topic, but I did find a paper by Kalimah Redd Knight (2017), wherein it is postulated that in the fall when pollen is not abundant bees search for "calcium, magnesium and potassium, all commonly found in pollen, by foraging in compound-rich or "dirty" water."
A Horned Squash Bug (Anasa armigera) rested quietly.
Squash (Cucurbita moschata) seems to grow randomly alongside the barn where mulch and other soil treatments are delivered. You will note an insect, too small to identify with certainty, but good to see anyway.
A Dame's Rocket Moth (Plutella porrectella) was not keen to attract attention and remained motionless.
Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba) is an attractive, much-loved flower, and it was blooming prolifically.
Honey bees were active at the hives.
I don't know what this piece of equipment is, but it is evidently related to the bee-keeping operation.
Meadow Spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius)
Similar Pelochrista (Pelochrista similiana) is a beautifully patterned moth; I had never seen one before.
It is not unexpected that we should find it at SpruceHaven, where goldenrods (genus Solidago) are abundant. The larvae of this species feed exclusively in the rootstalks of their host plant.
Ancistrocerus is a type of Potter Wasp that nests in a variety of situations including beetle borings, holes in mortar walls, hollows in metal structures and some make mud nests attached to rocks, walls or twigs.
The following insect is in the tribe of plant bugs, Mirini.
As has been mentioned in other posts, several species of Meadowhawk (genus Sympetrum) are so similar, that without definitive ID features it is best to just refer to them as Meadowhawks.
Asian Ladybeetle (Harmonia axyridis) is yet another species of foreign invader among the native fauna of North America.
This is a species that will bite humans and given the opportunity will roost in your home during the winter, often in large numbers.
These are Amber Snails (family Succineidae); I know almost nothing about them, but they appear to be different species.
Here is Pam getting down for some close shots.
Amphigonalia gothica is a species of Leafhopper found east of the Rockies.
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a wonderful component of the riotous bloom of the restored prairie.
A Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) industriously went about her business.
Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum)
A Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus) had ensnared a victim in its web and went about the task of preparing it for consumption.
In this instance, I am confident about the identity of this dragonfly; it is a Ruby Meadowhawk (Sympetrum rubicundulum).
Very handsome, too.
A Maize Calligrapher (Toxomerus politus) was a species I had not seen before.
Here is another Cross Orbweaver showing its very distinctive markings.
I am not sure who erected this sign, or when, but it is a welcome marker for those unfamiliar with SpruceHaven.
A Mountain Ash (genus Sorbus) bore a full crop of berries.
They will provide important sustenance for birds in winter.
I cannot resist showing just a few more Brown-eyed Susans.
If one may have a favourite Flower Fly, then Transverse-banded Flower Fly (Eristalis transversa) would be mine.
A Goldenrod Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) was waiting for unwary prey to come within reach.
Common Hoptree (Ptela trifoliata)
A couple of Japanese Beetles (Popillia trifoliata) showed the damage they can do.
The skeletonized leaf has a sort of macabre beauty to it, don't you think?
Thanks, as always to Miriam's work behind the camera. These posts wouldn't be the same without her.
Pod każdym listkiem coś się kryje. Na każdej gałązce cos siedzi. Cały słoneczny dzień można chodzić i fotografować owady jak Pam. Podoba mi się jej kapelusz, musze sobie taki kupić. Ta rudbekia obficie kwitnie w moim ogrodzie. Jej kwiaty zrywam na wystawę.
ReplyDeleteThe ruby meadowhawk photo is brilliant! Japanese beetles were at it again, in another place, weren't they?
ReplyDeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you, Miriam! David, the tree box is a mini hive designed to emulate tree holes which the bees would naturally seek out when forming new colonies... YAM xx
Thank you, YAM.
DeleteI was wondering about that too...so Thank you!
DeleteI once saw an entire acre of land covered in the lacy leaf at the end of this post. It was amazing and somewhere I have photos. so many interesting insects in this sanctuary field. I like the sound of that for sure... beautiful photos, every single one..
ReplyDeleteThat red Meadowhawk looks quite beautiful and elegant. I remember you have posted a blue one before. And I am with you about that skeletonized leaf.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful series of photos, David.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many different insects; I really love the spider and the dragonfly.
I wish you a wonderful week.
Greetings Irma
...David, a google search came up with this. The image shows a bee swarm trap or bait hive, designed to attract and capture a wild honey bee swarm.
ReplyDeleteYou would think I could have figured that out, wouldn’t you? Duh!
DeleteGreat photos David. And loving the spiders. Glad the first one got dinner. I love those eaten leaves, they really are art. :-D
ReplyDeleteThe Transverse-banded Flower Fly is one I've been wondering about for long time. Thanks for that ID.
ReplyDeleteFall is such an amazing time for insects and flowers!
Gracias por tan precioso reportaje, me encantan los insectos y las plantas. Gracias querido amigo David.
ReplyDeleteTodo maravilloso querido amigo David
ReplyDeleteBuenas fotos. Besos.
It's exciting to read what you write about the honeybees, David.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor also had hives right near here. He moves them from place to place, but they finally ended up here this fall.
The skeletonized leaves are very nice. Miriam is very skilled!
Hugs and kisses, Marit
Fascinating. Its a different world David.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the bees look so happy and healthy. That horned squash bug is an interesting one and new to me!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the walk and the exposition and, as always, thanks to Miriam for her wonderful pictures.
ReplyDeleteGlorious captures, David.
ReplyDeleteThose dragonflies are gorgeous! We had one in the office at work a few weeks back. Wonderful photos, as always, even though I'm not so keen on spiders!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful collection of invertebrates! I keep discovering we share many species in common, such as Misumena vatia. Thank you very much for sharing this. Have a lovely week.
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing place. I'm happy you were able to return and capture so many incredible images of nature. Have a good day today.
ReplyDeleteInteresting information re the Western Honey bee, as I have noticed them occasionally in odd places this year. Well done Miriam with all the great photos.. It is amazing how many similar bugs we have. I hope that all is well over there. Things are still a bit chaotic here, but they should slow down as winter approaches!! Bisous mon ami, Diane
ReplyDeleteHello David :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with all the insects in your post, but they are all very interesting. My first surprise was the Western Honey Bee foraging for minerals in dirty water, and my second
was how tiny some of these insects are,.I enjoyed seeing the two Meadowhawks, two spiders, the lacy leaf,especially the last photo, and the beautiful Brown Eyed Susans which are a few images that stood out for me. Thank you Miriam for your brilliant photography, and to you David for sharing your knowledge
Hugs and kisses
Sonjia.
Miriam thanks you, Sonjia.
DeleteHello David,
ReplyDeleteHow interesting this way bees seek nutrients;
The last image of the leaf looks more like a work of art;
I thought it was beautiful.
I love your posts, they're enriching.
Cacti are really easy to grow, but we have to be careful
with the thorns. Unfortunately, I've had an accident, so I don't grow cacti anymore.
Have a great week,
Janice.
I was thinking that box is to trap a swarm of bees. I have tried this before, without success sadly!
ReplyDeleteLots of beauty to enjoy, thanks David.
ReplyDeleteSanctuary Field
ReplyDeleteOnce the whole world was a sanctuary for wildlife.
That was a long time ago, but even in my lifetime it has diminished and been degraded at unfathomable speed.
DeleteIt is always interesting to "come back" to places you already shared about. It hasn't lost any of its fascination.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I find skeletonized leaves in my garden (not by Japanese Beetles) and I find them mesmerizing. Such accurate work! The Cross Orbweaver is very fascinating as well. Nature is so wonderful! Thank you for all these excellent photos (well, the thanks should go to Miriam, right?). Big hugs - Carola
I'm not a real insect person, but I make exception for honey and bumble bees. I grew up with bee hives just beyond the farm yard. As a young teen, I spent a day at the local beekeeper's learning how honey makes it to our table. Very interesting and a little disconcerting too. Bumblebees just seem so friendly and amusing, especially when they fall asleep in the bloom drunk on pollen.
ReplyDeleteThe other insects creep me out a bit. I know they have their place but I just avoid them.
The ones to avoid if you can are wasps in late summer/ early fall when they can get particularly nasty.
DeleteHello, dear friend, i enjoyed this walk full of life. I was fascinated by the yellow flowers; they look like tiny suns, and those snails that i adore. I love snails; they look like little garden jewels 🐌 🐌🐌 even the skeletonized leaves have their charm; the Popillia trifoliata created a natural embroidery.
ReplyDeleteHappy start of autumn over there, sending you lots of kisses (although spring has just begun here, it's not noticeable at all; rain, wind, and cold are crazy, jajaja 🍂
💙💚🌺😘💕💖🌷🌷
🌷Big kisses, gros bisous 🌷🌷🌷🌺😘
I am sure the weather will improve soon, Carolina.
DeleteGood to see all the photos and I do like that hop tree, we don't have it here.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos David (and Miriam ) !
ReplyDeleteAll those little creatures are lovely and essencial to wild life !
Thanks for sharing !
Have an interesting day !
Bisous
Anna
Biodiversity in the flesh I think! SprueHaven is a wonderful place.
ReplyDeleteCheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
PS: I think you are generally much closer to the birds at Snettisham than I am!!
Geographically, that is true.
DeleteIt was the day of the bees!
ReplyDeleteDavid, the Pelochrista similiana butterfly looks like a withered, dried leaf. It's good that they eat goldenrod, a weed in the garden. Harmonia axyridis is a cute ladybug that's often seen around here. Great photos of the spiders!
ReplyDeleteHello Dawid
ReplyDeleteAs always, you beautifully present nature and its hidden nooks and crannies.
Regarding bees, once, while wandering on a warm summer afternoon, I came across an ordinary puddle and there were about a dozen bees "drinking" the water. I was a bit surprised what they were looking for there. But as you say... they're looking for minerals - that explains it all.
Another very interesting and engaging post.
Best regards.
There are also many beehives in Finland. And many have experienced hard times. Namely, bears have visited the hives to feast on the honey.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and photographs.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
All the best Jan
I've seen a lot of honey bees on the ground lately too. And I would have said that bee box is a nuc box. But I noticed Tom's comment and that (based on where it is located) is probably what it is. I haven't seen one of those but I have heard about them. Hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to see you acknowledge Miriam for her photography David. I know you've done it before but to me that says a lot about you both in the best way. A marvelous series of photos taken at your daughter and son-in-law's home. Again, I appreciate you identifying all that have been taken here. It's always a visual delight but also a learning one. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to participating in a pollinator bioblitz on iNaturalist in October. I wonder if you ever participate in iNat.
ReplyDeleteI post to iNaturalist regularly. Currently I have 25,339 observations of 4,041 species.
DeleteYour recent posts have pushed me to pay more attention to bees and other pollinators in our garden. It’s surprising how many different ones I’ve seen just on a few flowers in the garden.
ReplyDeleteThe white box is a beehive. My brother who keeps bees says it's a Nuc hive but doesn't know why it is in the tree. Maybe to protect it from bears.
ReplyDeleteHallo David,
ReplyDeleteWat een prachtige insecten laat je hier zien. Ze worden vaak verguisd, maar ze zijn onmisbaar voor de natuur en dus ook voor ons mensen. Je ziet ze hier ook steeds minder, vroeger moest ik de voorkant van mijn auto schoonpoetsen na een rit, tegenwoordig is er geen insect meer op te bekennen, helaas. Het vlindertje op nr. 5 is denk ik een grasmot. Nr. 14 zou een vuurlibel kunnen zijn. Werkelijk prachtig die wants op nr. 29.
Groeten,
Ad
Wow. You and Miriam have quite the eyes, skills, and knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThose dragonflies especially intrigue me.
Thank you for this and for identifying the bird on my blog page, David.
David! Once again, you're revealing interesting places and extraordinary creatures to us. I love honey, which is why I'm fascinated by bees. I love catching them in the garden on sunny days. They're such hardworking creatures!
ReplyDeleteSending autumn greetings.
Very interesting insects :)
ReplyDeleteBest regards :)
In any case, beauty often lies in transience, as with this leaf. Now in autumn, we can see a lot of this morbid beauty again—I love it!
ReplyDeleteSo many beautiful and unusual insects again in this post, great!
This summer, I spotted a “large carpenter bee” in our garden for the first time – a stately and beautiful buzzing insect.
Warm regards from Switzerland!
I definitely appreciate Miriam's photography. It often takes my breath away.
ReplyDeleteWe shall have to refit the front door so that her expanded head will fit through!
DeleteBeautiful photos and interesting information. I loved the bees as my grandfather was a beekeeper and I always helped him around the beehives in the garden or went with him to to the ones in the heathlands (Netherlands). I love the dragonfly as well. We came across giant dragonflies on the West Coast of NZ. They were like little helicopters.
ReplyDeleteBTW I just saw that you are from Waterloo The brother of my grandfather lived in Pickering Thats not that far from you isnt it
ReplyDeleteWe are about an hour’s drive southwest of Toronto and Pickering is about a 45 minute drive east of Toronto, so not that far as you say. When we go to visit my daughter in the Ottawa Valley we go through Pickering on the expressway.
DeleteOh cool when you ever hear the name Van Hezewijk than its probably in my family
DeleteI will let you know if I do. I have very close friends who are Dutch Canadians. Their names are Vanden Elzen and Den Besten. Many years ago I knew a family from The Netherlands named Kluun, and another named DeVries. But I have lost touch with them.
DeleteLots going on in the insect and floral world. Thanks, Miriam:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely walk! The insect detail and photos are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHello David,
ReplyDeletea beautiful place with lots of insects. Here in Germany, this year was a year with very few insects and wild bees. I always have a good comparison with my insect hotel, and this year there weren't many.
Regards, Frank
ReplyDeleteHi David, you're showing us a beautiful field trip, this time with a multitude of insects and spiders. I also enjoy these kinds of outings, although in my area there aren't many good places for insects. A lot of agrochemicals are used, and we're seeing fewer and fewer bugs. Best regards.