Life in the Campbell Park Pollinator Patch: Part II

 The previous post gave some background on this community garden in Chatham, and the pollinator patch, which got its start in 2017. Certainly as the diversity of (mostly) native tallgrass prairie species has increased, and the size of the pollinator patch has doubled, it seems there are more insects than ever visiting it. I am finding new species every year. I'm not sure where they come from as it is located in a very open, manicured, municipal park and there is not much in the way of natural habitat close by. So it is even more amazing that such diversity makes its way here.

Some of the invertebrate fauna is easier to photograph than others, of course. So I present here a wide selection of species that I have seen, some quite regularly and others on rare or even single, occasions. While a fair number of them are in the Hymenoptera group, which includes wasps, bees, and such, I have never been bothered by any that I've photographed, even though I am using a macro lens with extension tubes and a flash, and are often only a few centimetres away. By moving slowly, they apparently are not threatened at all, so are spending their time looking for nectar or other insects to mate with or feed on.

Click on any of the photos to see them in a larger size.

Bicolored Sweat Bee

As I have mentioned in other posts, moths are regular pollinators, but seldom get recognized as such. This one is the Carrot Seed Moth, a regular day-flying species.

Compost Fly

This next one, the Dark Paper Wasp, is frequently seen.

The Eastern Calligrapher, shown next, is a type of hover fly, or Syrphid.

One of the largest insects, especially of the Hymenopteran family, is the Eastern Cicada Killer Wasp. It is large, with a body length of about 5 cm (2") and looks quite impressive, but are hard to photograph as they seem to be easily scared off.

Eastern Carpenter Bee

Members of the Hymenopteran group, including bees and wasps, are certainly common, as the photos will show. This next one is not native, but well-established anyway. It is the European Paper Wasp.

The Feather-legged Fly, shown next, is quite a striking little creature. Its orange and black colouration stands out, and what is interesting are the 'feathery' things on its legs, hence its name.

Five-banded Thynnid Wasp

The Flower Longhorn Beetle, next, was not photographed right in the pollinator plot, but on a Climbing Prairie Rose growing nearby. I have seen them in the pollinator patch, however.

One of the larger, more impressive, and common, species seen amongst the flowers is this Great Golden Digger Wasp.

Two-spotted Bumble Bee

Hyaline Grass Bug

Brilliant Jumping Spider

I am always on the lookout for leafhoppers, which are abundant and come in many patterns and colours. They are all very small, so difficult to photograph. This next one is a leafhopper of the genus Agallia. I am not aware of any common name.

One of my all-time favourite leafhoppers is this next one, the Red-banded Leafhopper.

Long-legged Fly

A Longhorn Bee species

This next one is the Louisiana Dark-painted Bee. It is considered Imperiled in Canada, and on iNaturalist there are only 4 other locations in Canada where it has been recorded, all in extreme southwestern Ontario.

Next is the Lunate Longhorn Cuckoo, also quite rare with only 5 other locations recorded for Canada on iNaturalist. All are in southern Ontario.

Related to the Eastern Calligrapher, shown above, is this Margined Calligrapher, another hover fly.

Margined Leatherwing beetles are fairly common, and it looks like there may be more on the way!

Dragonflies are not common, but they do show up from time to time. This is a type of Meadowhawk, perhaps a Ruby-faced Meadowhawk. There are several very similar looking ones.

One-spotted Stinkbug

Some species just don't have a common name that is readily recognized. This plant bug just goes by its scientific name: Ilnacora stalii.

This is the Pruinose Squash Bee, inside the flower of a squash.

Red Milkweed Beetle

Small Milkweed Bug

This Soldier Fly, shown next, was a first for me a few weeks ago.

Similar in size to the Great Golden Digger Wasp is this Great Black Digger Wasp.

Spined Assasin Bug

A native, very small Lady Bird Beetle is this Spurleg Lady Beetle.

The fly is attractive, but the name, Sunflower Maggot Fly, isn't.

Swamp Milkweed Beetle

Twice-stabbed Stink Bug

Very common, especially on the Mountain-mint, is this Wedge-shaped Beetle.

The Weevil Wasp, next, presumably feeds on some of the various weevils that can occasionally be found here.

A very small bug, only about 5 mm in length, is this last one, the White-margined Burrower Bug.

That's it for this post, but there are many more bugs, beetles and other critters that might show up in a future post!

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Life in the Campbell Park Pollinator Patch: Part I

 There is a community garden in the park next to our place, where approximately a dozen gardeners have various sized plots to grow garden produce. Marie and I are the local coordinators of this garden, and it has been a useful, and learning, experience.

One of the things that we, along with a couple of co-coordinators involved with this at the beginning of the project back in 2017, thought would be useful was to set aside part of the garden for (mostly) native wildflowers. With our interest in tallgrass prairie, it may be no surprise that many of those wildflowers were typical tallgrass prairie types.

The pollinator patch has looked quite impressive.

 

The Wild Bergamot has overdone itself this year, as the previous image shows. I will likely have to trim it back a bit aggressively before next year, to give some other plants a better chance.

A close relative is Bee-Balm, or Oswego Tea.

Butterfly Milkweed

Wild Columbine

Foxglove Beardtongue

Gray-headed Coneflower

Wild Senna

Purple Coneflower

Purple Coneflower is a tallgrass prairie species, but not native to Ontario. It is widespread in mid-western US prairies, and a crowd-pleaser, hence it is often planted in gardens.

There are more than twenty plant species established at this prairie patch. In addition to the ones shown above, there are others such as Big Bluestem, Indian Grass, Missouri Ironweed, Canada Anemone, Swamp Milkweed, Oxeye, Blue Vervain, Mountain-mint, Culver's-root, New England Aster, Gray-headed Coneflower, Black-eyed Susan, Boneset, Canada Goldenrod, Riddell's Goldenrod and Common Milkweed. There is something flowering from May until September, or even longer, so something for insects for much of the season.

 Pollinators, as most readers will know, are incredibly important in the productivity of many of the garden produce we rely on and enjoy. 

 With so much of the general landscape being affected by outright loss of native habitat as well as the overuse of many pesticides, pollinators have a tough time surviving. With virtually all pollinators also having natural predators to contend with, it makes it extra challenging for them to carry on with their normal activities for survival. Therefore wildflower patches such as there is here and not impacted by pesticides, are very helpful for them, and also for gardeners. We are pleased to not only add some colour to our local garden, but also be amazed at the diversity of insects that show up! It is also encouraging to see various people walking by and pausing to enjoy the plants, butterflies and other insects they see.

In addition to these information signs, we've also put up posters highlighting some of the butterflies that have been seen here, as well as another poster illustrating many of the wildflowers in bloom. We have another poster in preparation, featuring more than 20 different non-butterfly insects commonly found here. 

One of the major problem insects that gardeners have to deal with is the Japanese Beetle. They aren't native, of course, and can be incredibly abundant and damaging especially to some plants, such as raspberries, beans and grapes as well as horticultural plants. In fact they are considered pests on more than 300 species of plants.

If one looks around at garden centres, hardware stores and the like, one will find them providing a great sales pitch for Japanese Beetle traps. In a 20 minute walk around our neighbourhood, we noted 5 traps, all in the front yards. Who knows how many others were in the area that we didn't see.

While these traps are very effective at attracting and collecting these beetles, what said garden centres, etc. don't tell you is that if you place one of these traps in your yard, you will likely end up with more beetles than ever! The attractant in the trap is a scent of flowers that initially attract the beetles, and when a large number of beetles arrive, the pheromone that they give off attracts hundreds of others in short order. Many will come to the trap, but many others will spend time on various garden or horticultural plants, causing the damage that the homeowners were trying to eliminate. Research has shown that vegetation damage is greater in the immediate area of a beetle trap than in areas where homeowners have not put up a trap. Here is a link describing this. 

The bottom line is that Japanese Beetles are here to stay, and putting up traps will only increase their number, and therefore the damage, in your yard or garden. 

There are other problem species in gardens besides Japanese Beetles. For example growers of cabbages and greens, have an ongoing battle with the larvae of the Cabbage White butterfly.

The little caterpillars love feasting on garden greens.

Less problematic, but still non-native, are other beetles. In fact most of the lady bugs, or Lady Bird Beetles we are familiar with, are not native. Here are two of the more common ones in our area.

Seven-spotted Lady Bird Beetle

Asian Multi-colored Lady Bird Beetle

On occasion you may find something like this next creature, roaming about. One wouldn't automatically make the connection, but it is the larval stage of the Asian Multi-colored Lady Bird Beetle.

There is another non-native insect species common in gardens, and this one at least has a very positive influence on our gardens and other things. It is the Western Honey Bee, commonly known as the honey bee that gives us such a sweet, tasty and generally healthy product.

Stay tuned for Part II, which will feature some of the impressive invertebrate creatures I've found and photographed in this pollinator patch!

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