Black Swallowtail butterfly on New England Aster.

Monarch on New England Aster.  87 degrees here today and we still have many Monarchs.

Garter Snake crossing our driveway.

Bumble Bee on Stiff Goldenrod.

Female Cardinal in Giant Ragweed patch.

Honey Bee on Stiff Goldenrod.  Notice the large yellow pollen sac on its upper leg.

 A flower loving fly that mimics a bee or wasp.  They are often called flower-flies, but I prefer to call them "Bee Flies" as they mimic the stinging wasps and bees for protection.  This time of year we have many species of these that are busy feeding on our late blooming prairie flowers.

Drone Fly.  Another species of fly that mimics for protection.

Monarch on Stiff Goldenrod.  We still have good numbers of Monarch-some of them look quite freshly emerged.

Wasp and Bumble Bee gathering pollen on Stiff Goldenrod.  This time of year they are so busy pollen gathering that they pay no attention to each other, or to me.

Sulfur Butterfly on Stiff Goldenrod.

Purple-stemmed Aster.  Late summer is the time of the Aster family of flowers.  We have at least 6 species of aster at our place and they add great splash of color and provide food for many insects.

Bald-faced Hornet on Panicled Aster.

Many Monarchs are putting up on the East sides of our large Norway Spruce today.  It appears they are trying to avoid the very strong West winds.

Grape Vine Folder Moth. 0.6 inches.

White-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly.  This species seems to like our lower meadow.

Male Widow Skimmer Dragonfly.

Bumble Bee on Mountain Mint.

Soldier Beetles on Stiff Goldenrod.

Monarch on Rosin  Weed flower.  Saw many Monarchs this week.