WE have been seeing more Turkey Vultures as they gather up to head south..

 Flower fly (Bee fly) on New England Aster.

 Honey Bee on Stiff Goldenrod.

 Flower Fly, sometimes called Bee Flies on Panicled Aster.  They have evolved to mimic bees for protection.

 NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR THIS WEEK.

 

 Wild Asters have started to bloom.  Top-Purple stemmed Aster, bottom- Panicled Aster.

 Flower Fly(yes that is a fly and not a bee) in the top photo, and a Bald-faced Hornet in the bottom photo.  

 Bumble Bee on Stiff Goldenrod.

 

Monarch on Zinnas.   Still good numbers of Monarchs here.

 Great Spangled Fritillary on Zinna.

 Great Black Wasp on Mountain Mint..  We often the see smaller, black cousin of this wasp, the Mud Dauber, but not this one very often.  This very large (1.5in) wasp is probably a female.  We have been trying to photograph this species that we have found only on the prairies for years.

Cardinal-flower, Mississippi backwaters.

 Monarchs spent the night at our place.  Last evening many small groups of Monarchs roosted at our place .  This group was about 50 ft. up in one of our 100 year old Norway Spruce.

MONARCH BUTTERFLY TREE

A "Butterfly Tree" or roost of 4th generation Monarchs on their way to overwinter in Mexico.  Why they gather together in the evening is unknown-perhaps for heat or for safety in numbers.  We usually find these trees close to prairies with lots of blooming flowers.