My poor Robin

[hazelrunpack]

Oooooo, chico, that's one ugly bug! What is that?!

Here's a mourning cloak butterfly to keep your mind off the ugly bugger:



And my buddy, Mr Garden Toad, who eats all the ugly bugs in my garden



He looks kinda grumpy, but he's actually quite a good conversationalist.

[SuperWanda]

Chico's photo is of a house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata). Centipedes are arthropods but belong in a different class (Chilopoda) than insects do (Class Insecta).

They are not harmful to humans and are predators on other small arthropods.

[SuperWanda]

again but I thought this was pretty interesting. I had so many monarch caterpillars in my garden last year and came across this stink bug who had pierced this monarch caterpillar and was sucking his insides out.

[chico2]

Superwanda,I know the House Centipeds are not harmful to humans,but they really give me the willies.
I usually have lots of them when it gets hot and humid,I will not go in to a room if I see one there.
They are sooo fast(lots of legs )even the cats have a hard time catching them.
A Stinkbug I don't think I've ever seen one of those,poor caterpillar:sad:
I don't kill anything,I even catch flies and put them outside,but these things I just cannot deal with
Hazel,thank's for the pretty pics

[Skryker]

Lovely pics, guys! I'm hoping to get a butterfly garden put in this year.

We have had a pair of little falcons nesting across the street from us for the past 5 years-I thought they were Peregrines but apparently they are Merlins. I'm hoping to be able to get some pictures of them this year. I love watching (and hearing, lol!) the first flight lessons. The little ones get very indignant over the whole thing.

Winston, we lived just off of Bay Street in Hamilton, right by Copps, on the 10th floor, so I used to be able to watch the Peregrines flying. It was great!

Dancer, however, didn't care for being able to look down on birds flying past. And she took her job of scaring the pigeons off the balcony very, very seriously.

[SuperWanda]

LOL Chico - well, at least your cats may be entertained -but you must be a true critter lover if you catch your flies!

Stink bugs are a fairly large group of insects - most feed on plants but some are predaceous. I see a lot on my raspberry bushes. Once I popped some raspberries in my mouth and it tasted disgusting so I spit it out only to find there was a stink bug on it - they emit a foul odor and taste to ward off predators like birds.

I also felt bad for the caterpillar but I guess the stink bug needs to eat too!

[chico2]

Superwanda,yes it's the way of nature,every living thing has to eat..
I am awed by Hawks and Kestrels coming to my backyard,even though it means another bird will die.

[chico2]

Yet another Monarch-pic had lots of them last summer

[hazelrunpack]

Originally Posted by chico2

Yet another Monarch-pic had lots of them last summer

Is that a butterfly bush it's on? Do they attract a lot of bees? (the flowers, I mean...not the monarch... )

My husband won't let me plant a butterfly bush because he's uncomfortable around bees and thinks the bush will attract too many. "I'd be the one who'd have to mow around it!" (direct quote from hubby )

[SuperWanda]

Nice pictures!

[chico2]

Hazel,yes it is,I love them,have two and they are in the middle of my larger Perrenial spot,they smell great!!
I don't think they attract more bees than any other flowers,but they certainly attract Butterflies.
Lucky Rescue was talking about Milk-Weed to attract BF but it is a weed and naturally I cannot find any at the nurseries,but I'd love to plant some.
Tell hubby,bees will do you know harm and they are unavoidable if you have flowers,nothing to be afraid of,unless you are severely allergic.

[hazelrunpack]

Originally Posted by chico2

Hazel,yes it is,I love them,have two and they are in the middle of my larger Perrenial spot,they smell great!!
I don't think they attract more bees than any other flowers,but they certainly attract Butterflies.
Lucky Rescue was talking about Milk-Weed to attract BF but it is a weed and naturally I cannot find any at the nurseries,but I'd love to plant some.
Tell hubby,bees will do you know harm and they are unavoidable if you have flowers,nothing to be afraid of,unless you are severely allergic.

I have a butterfly weed--Asclepias tuberosa, a native milkweed--that attracts butterflies pretty well. And I've planted common milkweed, too--but the common variety is pretty aggressive--rhizomes spread at the rate of about 3 feet a year...if you have fussy neighbors, I wouldn't recommend it!

The butterfly weed gets pretty orange flowers on it--I just planted it last year and I'm hoping that it made it through our long cold spell with no snow blanket in January/February:



I have a catalog from a nursery in MN that sells wild stock. They're one of those nurseries that get plants and seeds from construction projects (collect from an area about to be paved for a road, for example) and then grow their own fields. PM me if you want the name--or a description of the plants. (They have a pretty good variety of different milkweeds, ranging from aggressive spreaders to well-behaved sedentary varieties )

[hazelrunpack]

Hubby actually likes honey bees, but he doesn't like them buzzing him when he's sitting on the tractor and can't get away so easily. We had a nest of ground bees in the basement yard last year that kept putting forth defending hordes while he was mowing the grass... he he he Scarred him for life!

I love your garden shots, chico!

[rivers]

Originally Posted by chico2

Lucky Rescue was talking about Milk-Weed to attract BF but it is a weed and naturally I cannot find any at the nurseries,but I'd love to plant some.

Milkweed is extremely poisonous. If you touch the leaves or the white milk in the stem, you must wash your hands.

Toxicity. Dosages of milkweed may cause toxicosis and, possibly, death. Cattle, sheep and horses are most susceptible. Toxicity is not lost when the plant is dried. Therefore, contaminated hay is potentially toxic.

Clinical signs include profuse salivation, incoordination, violent seizures, bloating in ruminants and colic in horses. Early signs are followed by bradycardia or tachycardia, arrhythmias, hypotension and hypothermia. Death may occur from 1-3 days after ingestion of the milkweed.

It only attracts monarch butterflies, and only if they were born in that spot, as they return generations later to the same spot to lay more eggs.

Last spring, my son brought home a leaf with a monarch caterpillar on it. He found it by a lake, every day we went back to get another fresh leaf for the caterpillar. The bush was crawling with caterpillars. We were lucky enough to see the caterpillar change into a chrysalis later and let the butterfly go two weeks later.

I wouldn't plant it in your yard.

[chico2]

Hazel thank's,I'll look for the Butterfly Weed,probably not the common Milk Weed if it is toxic,I've never heard that before
I would not want anything toxic with my cats
Awww,I can't wait for spring,but today it's -5C
My Lilacs,Magnolia and tulips will come first,too bad they are too shortlived..

[SuperWanda]

I have a lot of milkweed in my yard that's why I get a lot of monarchs. I don't have any horses or sheep though. I have two dogs but they don't bother with it.

I'm sure people have different sensitivities but I cut mine back each year and get the milky sap on my hands but it doesn't irritate my hands and I don't eat it.

I have a native swamp milkweed which does not spread too much but I also have some common that has spread more - I may have to cut it back.

Our City of Winnipeg website has a section and store to buy native plants. You can buy all types of seeds including milkweeds. The seeds are collected from tall grass prairie in southern Manitoba. I think it's great to encourage people to plant native wildflowers!

Here is a picture of the chrysalis or pupa:

[SuperWanda]

I think all milkweed is toxic - that is how the monarch's protect themselves from predators because they injest the noxious substance. I have seen a robin grab a caterpillar only to vomit it up again.

[chico2]

SW,I'll look in the seedstore if they have any,nice picture
I am constantly splitting(give to friends)most of my perennials since it seems everything spreads every year,but I like the look of a wild but organized looking garden.
Like in this pic...

[hazelrunpack]

I knew milkweed was toxic if ingested--but I've had dogs for years and none of them touch it. (Well, okay...the Sheriff likes the occasional roll in it, but other than that, they don't touch it. ) Don't know if cats would try it, but my dogs don't seem to find it interesting at all.

I'm not particularly sensitive to the juices, either, but I rarely cut it. Some might be more sensitive. Most people don't plant it, not because of the toxicity, but because of it's invasiveness.

I'm going to put in a few more varieties this year, but it still won't be a problem--we're planting it in the wild area out by the road, away from the dog's fenced area. I'm still going through the catalog and trying to decide which kinds to order. A fun winter activity...

[hazelrunpack]

Originally Posted by chico2

...I like the look of a wild but organized looking garden...

he he he Me too! But with 6 dogs, mine always look a little more trampled than that!

Nice garden, chico!

[SuperWanda]

That's the kind of gardening I like too!

Chico - If you can pick the species of plants that are already native to your area they will do much better. I see you are in Oakville so I would imagine you have some of the same species that we have here in Manitoba.

Here is a link I found that lists the types of milkweed you have in Ontario:

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/...eed.htm#common

[Lukka'sma]

I know flowers and such have a different thread but I just have to say that chico2 you have such a beautiful garden and yard. I just love it:love:

[chico2]

Hazel,my cats do not eat my plants and we are always outside with them,to watch,they have their own cat-nip patch and I certainly am not going to eat them(the milkweed),so I think it will be ok...
Superwanda,thank's I bookmarked the site,there are some beautiful flowers there!

Lukka's mom,thank's,it's a labor of love,for sure and we were talking of bushes that attract Butterflies,just got a little sidetrackt
Oh no,it's SNOWING:sad:
Rocky in heaven,his cat-nip patch!

[Prin]

Wow, this thread has become so educational.

[rainbow]

I just found it now. Don't have time to read it all right now but there sure was lots of great pics. I'll check it out later.