Insects Dont Bug Me

As autumn settles over Virginia, the bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) lives her quiet finale. The summer colony fades, and a few new queens remain — larger, solitary, and slow — seeking shelter to endure the winter chill. Beneath bark or leaves, she’ll rest unseen until spring’s warmth calls her back to life.
Hunters, builders, and caretakers — these wasps keep nature in balance, controlling pests and sustaining the rhythm of the wild.
Misunderstood, yet vital — a symbol of endurance, harmony, and strength woven through every season. 🖤🤍

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

Attracting these beautiful swallowtails to your garden is easy. Planting dill, parsley, fennel, celery, caraway, and carrot help to provide food sources.

Beauty is in the eye of the bee-holder.

Carpenter bees may seem bold, but they’re gentle by nature—curious and clumsy.
Sometimes the loudest wings carry the softest souls. Bee kind when you see them around your property. 🐝

Pale Green Assassin Bug (Zelus luridus)

Amazing little predatory insects. These assassin bugs inject venom into invertebrates using their proboscis, which then functions similarly to a straw allowing them to feed. Wonderful insects to have around your garden.

Welcoming these beautiful baby jumping spiders back to my yard. 🖤 These magnificent little creatures can jump 50x the length of their bodies. They are also capable of problem solving and do not depend on webs to catch their prey.

Love finding these beautiful crab spiders on my flowers.

One of my Black Swallowtail caterpillars enjoying my parsley. Cutest little caterpillar feet 😍

Swallowtail Butterfly Loading…….

Dragonfly visits at the beach 💞 this beautiful Black Saddlebags Skimmer (Tramea lacerata) took a quick break from hunting with their swarm to visit with me.

Beautiful viceroy butterfly in the garden. These monarch lookalikes use Müllerian mimicry where two species use the similar warnings for their mutual benefit. The Viceroy Butterflies (like the monarchs) have a foul taste to predators, which leads them to avoid other butterflies with similar patterns and colors.

Monarchs and Viceroys share many similarities, however, the viceroy has a distinct black line crossing the postmedian hindwing. A truly incredible example of pattern genetics.

Cutest juvenile jumping spider 💚