The Life in Dead Wood

In my last post, Dead Wood in the Landscape, I shared the biological benefits of leaving dead wood in our gardens and landscapes.  In this post, I want to get more specific, describiing a sampling of the species that we see in our yard BECAUSE we have left dead wood where we can.

Before I start, I want to share a quote with you from Peter Wohlleben.   In The Hidden Life of Trees, The Illustrated Edition, he writes of a tree that suddenly dies, "For centuries, the tree sucked nutrients from the ground and stored them in its wood and bark.  And now it is a precious resource for its children.  But they don't have direct access to the delicacies contained in their dead parents. To access them, the youngsters need the help of other organisms.  As soon as the snapped trunk hits the ground, the tree and its root system become the site of a culinary relay race for thousands of species of fungi and insects.  Each is specialized for a particular stage of the decomposition process and for a particular part of the tree.  And this is why these species can never pose a danger to a living tree--it would be much too fresh for them.  Soft, woody fibers and moist, moldy cells--these are the things they find delicious. ... In total, a fifth of the animal and plant species in Central European forests--that's about six thousand of the species we know about--depend on dead wood." (p. 78-81)

That same general richness of species depends on dead wood all over the world.  Let's look at some of the ones I see in our yard, here in the eastern deciduous forest of North America.....

Pileated Woodpeckers could serve as the charismatic poster child for an animal that needs dead wood to have a healthy habitat.  These big, beautiful woodpeckers not only nest in dead trees, but they obtain a large portion of their food in dead wood.  Their diet is primarily made up of carpenter ants, along with wood-boring beetle larvae, termites, assorted other insects, and sometimes fruits and nuts.

Pileated Woodpecker foraging on downed wood along the paths
April 26, 2023

Although Pileated Woodpeckers are fairly wary, it is not unusual for us to see them foraging on the dead wood in our yard.  Getting decent photos can be a lot trickier, though, than simply seeing them!

Other woodpeckers use dead wood, too.  Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers all nest in dead wood, sometimes in dead branches in living trees.  Several of these species will also nest in living trees that are infected with heart rot fungus.

Every summer we see juvenile Red-bellied Woodpeckers, 
which means that their parents were able to build a successful nest
in dead wood somewhere nearby.
June 5, 2022

Mom is feeding her daughter (on the left).
We see juvenile Downy Woodpeckers every year 
because they've been able to successfully build their nest
in a large dead branch nearby.
May 22, 2022

One year we even had this beautiful adult Red-headed Woodpecker stop by,
another species that nests in dead wood.
June 20, 2022

Woodpecker nest holes are frequently reused as nest sites by other cavity nesting birds such as Bluebirds, Great-crested flycatchers, Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Screech Owls, White-breasted Nuthatches, Wrens, Swallows, and even Wood Ducks.  During cold weather, woodpecker nests are often used as roosting sites for protection from the temperatures.

Birds aren't the only animals that reuse woodpecker nest holes. Squirrels, Flying Squirrels, even some species of bats will use these valuable spaces for nesting or winter shelter.

Skinks love to use the logs in our yard as basking sites and as pathways. As I shared in my last post, one pair nested in the rotting roots of the dead black gum tree.

An immature and a mature male Broad-headed Skink
using logs as a basking site and pathway.
May 18, 2023

I haven't found any in our yard yet, but many salamander species are found under or in rotting wood, too.

Many, many insect species spend at least part of their life cycle in dead wood.  (Note:  these insects use dead wood, not living wood, as the fibers are softer and decomposition is already occurring in the dead wood.)

Many beetle species lay their eggs in snags, logs, or dead branches and their larvae eat the decaying wood, then pupate there, all safely protected from prying eyes.  Protected from prying eyes...but not from woodpecker bills and tongues!  Beetle larvae are prime woodpecker food, and the woodpeckers help keep the beetle populations balanced and under control.

Last year I noticed a big jump in beetles feeding at and pollinating flowers in our yard.  It turns out that most of the new species I saw have larval stages that develop in dead wood.  One of my favorites is the uniquely marked Delta Flower Scarab (Trigonopeltastes delta).  I also saw Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordella sp.) and Emerald Flower Scarabs (Trichiotinus lunulatus).

A Delta Flower Scarab on Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba)
June 11, 2024

An Emerald Flower Scarab and a Tumbling Flower Beetle
on Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba)
June 8, 2024

There are several species of flower longhorn beetles that showed up last year, too, all of whom spend their larval stage in dead wood:  Slender Flower Longhorns ((Strangalia famelica), Red-winged Longhorn Beetles (Brachyleptura rubrica), and Red-shouldered Flower Longhorns (Brachyleptura vagans).

Slender Flower Longhorn on Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba)
June 5, 2024

Red-winged Longhorn Beetle on Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba)
June 5, 2024

Red-shouldered Flower Longhorn on Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba)
June 11, 2024

The larvae of these species are some of insects that woodpeckers and other animals are eating when they feed on snags or logs.

It's not just woodpeckers that prey on beetle grubs, though.  There are other beetle species whose larvae are predators on the wood-boring beetle larvae.  An example of a beetle species with predatory larvae is the Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus).   

Eyed Click Beetle, whose larvae are predators on the larvae of wood-boring beetles
July 14, 2020

There are also parasitoid wasps that specialize in using the wood-boring beetle larvae as hosts for their developing larvae, including the species pictured below which specializes in laying its eggs in longhorn beetle larvae.  That long ovipositor is designed to pierce decaying wood to reach the beetle larva and lay an egg on it.

An Ichneumon Wasp (Spilopteron occiputale) that lays its eggs
in the larvae of longhorn beetle larvae.
July 2, 2024

Then there are yet other beetles whose larvae develop in dead wood, beetles like False Mealworm Beetles (Alobates pensylvanicus) who are predatory on other insects, or like Horned Passalus Beetles (Odontotaenius disjunctus), who live in small colonies in dead wood and whose adults feed their larvae pre-chewed rotting wood.

False Mealworm Beetle that was living under the bark
in the dead black gum trunk.
August 11, 2023

Horned Passalus Beetle, a species that lives in colonies in dead wood.
June 30, 2022

About 30% of the solitary native bees nest in places like stems or in beetle larvae tunnels in dead wood.  Pure Green Sweat Bees (Augochlora pura) are one of the species that I see in the yard that use beetle galleries in dead wood for their nests and whose fertilized females overwinter under logs.  Seeing these jewel-like pollinators gives me a real lift. 

Pure Green Sweat Bee on Wrinkle-leaf Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)
October 13, 2023

Eastern Carpenter Bees (Xylocopa virginica), who are fabulous pollinators, excavate their own tunnels in dead wood to use as nest sites.  It's disconcerting to have Eastern Carpenter Bees use a railing or the eave of a house, but they naturally use dead wood in the landscape for their tunnels.  Keeping your wood surfaces well painted can encourage these guys to nest elsewhere.

Eastern Carpenter Bee on
Hairy Elephant's Foot (Elephantopus tomentosus)
August 20, 2023

I really dislike disturbing animals, so I haven't actually broken into or looked under the dead wood, standing or downed, to see what animals I can find by direct observation.  Someday I may.  Meanwhile, throughout the year, I'm enjoying the various species that I see specifically because we have logs and snags in our yard.

I've talked about some of the animals we see in our yard because of dead wood, but there are many fungi, mosses, and lichens we see for the same reason and it's been fascinating to see how many there actually are.  I know little about fungi, so I can't identify most of these, but I still enjoy looking at them.  Learning more about them is definitely on my "to do" list.

The first photo is of a slime mold rather than a fungus.  Slime molds are unique, with some characteristics of fungi and some characteristics, believe it or not, of animals.  I've only seen these "chocolate pom-poms" once, on a decaying stump, but when I looked them up, they are a well known species called Chocolate Tube Slime Mold (Stemonitis splendens).  Although some slime molds can look gross, they are decomposers and are not dangerous.  They disappear when environmental conditions change.

These "chocolate pom-poms" are actually Chocolate Tube Slime Mold
June 19, 2023

On that same stump, about 10 months before the Chocolate Tube Slime Mold appeared, I found a fungus known as Black-staining Polypore (Meripilus sumstinei).  This cluster was young, and I find it very elegant looking, especially from the side.  This species is considered edible, but I'm not good enough at identification to take a chance on eating it.

Black-staining Polypore
August 21, 2022

The same clump of mushrooms, Black-staining Polypore,
photographed from the top.
August 21, 2022

I have no idea what species this fungus is, but I love the lacy texture. Note the bit of lichen at its base.

Unknown lacy fungus with lichen at its base,
found on a dead hardwood branch.
August 8, 2024

To myself, I call the round clusters of fungal structures that are found in the next photo, "fungal roses".  That is, you understand, a totally unscientific name but they remind me of the paper flowers that I used to make when I wanted a pop of color on a table or bookcase. As with the fungus above, I do not know the name of this species.

"Fungal rose" on log
May 29, 2023

I'm including this last photo as much for the moss as for the fungus.  This is another fungus for which I do not know the name, nor do I know the name of the moss, but they both were growing on the same stump where I found the Chocolate Tube Slime Mold and the Black-staining Polypore cluster.  Moss and lichen are both frequently found on dead wood.

"Prickly fungus" in a bed of moss
on a stump by our driveway.
October 25, 2023

When we remove dead wood from the landscape, we are effectively starving the ecosystem.

Why do we instinctively feel that dead wood needs to be removed? Well, probably at least in part because it's "dead" and we generally don't like to be reminded of death as a part of life.  In our phobia about death, we've trained ourselves to think that any dead plant material is "ugly" - and ugly things need to be removed from our surroundings. 

However, dead wood isn't ugly, and it's chock full of nutrients that will feed a broad range of other life forms, including other trees.  Scientists have learned that even dead limbs shed by trees actually decompose into extra food that ends up feeding the tree from which they fell.  If the tree is stressed, shedding limbs can reduce the amount of living tissue it has to support during the stressful time as well as give it that boost of energy and nutrition as the dead wood decomposes.

In Victorian times, "stumperies" became popular in gardens - think of a rock garden, but using stumps and dead wood instead of rocks. Stumperies are making a comeback in some gardens and can be very attractively planted, benefitting both human aesthetic sensibilities and ecological needs.

In whatever way works for your garden aesthetic, I hope that you'll seriously consider adding a snag or some logs to your garden.  In doing so, you'll be adding important habitat for a wide variety of species.

Dead Wood in the Landscape

A dead tree is just dead, right?  It must be time to get rid of it so that the woodland can stay healthy, right?

WRONG!  Dead trees, whether standing (called snags) or fallen (called downed wood or logs), are vitally important to woodland health and to biodiversity.  In fact, scientists believe that dead wood harbors more life than living wood does.  Dead wood is critical to the health of a forest, feeding the soil and a myriad of plants and animals.

How can that be true?  It's DEAD!  It seems counterintuitive, doesn't it?  Well, stop and think about it for a moment.....

As we all know, trees capture energy from the sun to make sugar, but they also pull up nutrients from deep within the soil, with the important help of extensive mycorrhizal networks.  All of these nutrients and energy are stored within the leaves and wood of the tree.  When the tree dies, that nutrition doesn't just disappear, it becomes a vital resource for other plants and for animals within the forest.

A slug inside a shelf fungus on a dead log.  The green
areas are lichen and, if you look closely, you can see
tiny holes where some animal has bored into the dead wood.
May 6, 2024

In fact, many, many species utilize dead wood for some or all of their life cycle.  Dead wood is full of organisms decomposing it and, in the process, working to extract the nutrition stored in it.  Fungi, lichens, mosses, microbes, beetle larvae, ants, termites, and more - all feeding on the nutrients in the dead wood and breaking it down in the process.

All of the decomposers then become food for other animals.  These animals, like woodpeckers and other birds, beetle larvae, centipedes, and parasitic wasps, find a cornucopia of food as they feed on the organisms that are feeding on the dead wood.

This Pileated Woodpecker spent over an hour foraging
on logs around our yard.  
April 26, 2023

A pair of Broad-headed Skinks took up housekeeping
in the decaying roots of the dead black gum tree.
May 16, 2023

Dead wood also forms important structural habitat for animals:  woodpeckers make their nest holes, then other animals utilize the nest holes when the woodpeckers move out.  Flying squirrels, screech owls, and raccoons all utilize cavities in trees as their home.  Little solitary bees utilize the old tunnels of wood-boring larvae and carpenter bees excavate  their own new tunnels in the dead wood.  In these tunnels, the bees lay their eggs, provisioned with nectar and pollen for the growth of their developing larvae.  Hollow trees are biodiversity central, harboring massive numbers of species.  Dead branches serve as perches from which flycatchers and bluebirds and hawks hunt.  

A squirrel sat on this stump, eating hickory nuts,
as evidenced by the debris left behind.
September 15, 2023

Even logs are often used as displaying and basking sites, as well as for protection during cold weather or drought.

As the dead wood decomposes, it forms humus in the soil which both feeds the soil and helps the soil to absorb and retain water, providing protection from drought conditions.

From the bottom left to the top right, there WAS a log, about 6" in diameter.
Within 3 years, it had decomposed to this soft woody "dust".
August 29, 2024

Downed wood will slow the flow of water off a landscape, helping rain be absorbed into the soil, decreasing floods and increasing groundwater storage, helping to keep the soil moist for the plants and animals living in it.

Last, but hardly least, one of the most undervalued benefits that trees provide is that they are important "carbon sinks", utilizing carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and storing the carbon in their wood and leaves as they grow.  That carbon stays in the wood after the tree dies and, as the wood decomposes slowly, much of it will become held as organic material in the soil for even longer.  Soil can hold a tremendous amount of carbon and I've seen estimates that a full third of the carbon that we need to remove from the atmosphere to solve the climate crisis could be stored in soils in the form of humus or organic material.

How much carbon does a tree store?  Dry wood is about 45-50% carbon, depending on the species of tree.  One unit of carbon (a pound, for example), if completely converted to carbon dioxide, will produce 3.67 units (pounds, in our example) of carbon dioxide.  So, to estimate, one pound of dry wood is storing 1.8 pounds of carbon dioxide in its tissues.

So, do we have dead wood in our yard?  Absolutely.

This is the remnant trunk of the dead black gum tree,
cut off about 20' above the ground.
Note the living Pileated Woodpecker below
the iron silhouette of a pileated above.
April 26, 2023

About a year after we moved in, I had our trees trimmed for safety purposes.   I asked the arborist's crew to leave larger branches for me, which they very kindly did.  Our yard also contained a dead black gum tree.  It was tall enough that it could do some damage if it fell in the wrong direction, so I had the crew cut it off about 20' above the ground, leaving the lower part of the trunk standing for woodpeckers and other animals to use.  

With the truncated, dead black gum trunk rising behind one grandson,
both play on the newly cut trunk sections we left.
January 26, 2022

Then, instead of having the arborist's crew haul off all the rest of the wood, I had them cut the trunk into logs and used as many of those logs around the yard as I could:  as an end table between 2 Adirondack chairs, as an obstacle course for the grandsons to play on, as occasional places for me to sit during a walkabout, as a decorative element in a flower bed.  I also had them leave a 20' section of the upper trunk as a landscape feature just to let it rot in place.

A trail, lined with downed branches, 
that leads out into the wild area of the front yard.
June 1, 2024

Another section of trail lined with downed branches.
In this photo, you can see the remaining stump
from the dead black gum tree that I talk about below.
June 1, 2024

The larger branches that the arborist's crew trimmed off were cut into sections that I used to start outlining garden beds and paths.

Two years after the dead black gum trunk was cut back and left standing, it did fall, due to rot in its roots and in the base of the tree.  Because I'd had the trunk cut back to 20' tall, it did no damage...although it was a little inconvenient since it landed in our driveway.  We pushed it out of the way so that we could use the driveway, then got a crew to take much of it away.  On 2/3 acre, there's unfortunately only so much dead wood that I can comfortably keep.  

"After the fall". We were able to roll the log section off the driveway
until we could hire someone to cut and remove the wood.
August 11, 2023

A closer look at the remaining stump and hollowed out lower trunk
of the dead black gum tree.
August 11, 2023

I did keep the stump and a broken 3' section that was partially rotted away.

Not long after the truncated and dead black gum tree fell, we decided that we had to take down a large, beautiful southern red oak tree that was leaning too strongly towards the neighbor's house.  It was right beside the driveway and there was/is rot in it from where the driveway has impinged upon it.  I really hated having to make that decision, but I couldn't have lived with myself if the tree had fallen on my neighbor's home, so it had to come down.  Before the tree crew came, I measured how far it was to the nearby electric pole and, instead of cutting the tree down completely, I had it topped at 20' as we'd done with the dead black gum.

I have no photo of that tree because it's still too painful that we felt we had to cut it down.

If I were an artist, I'd try to carve a face into the remaining trunk of the red oak.   Since I'm not, I simply mounted 2 iron silhouettes on it:  an owl and a pileated woodpecker.  I suspect that the trunk will be there for a long time, slowly decomposing and feeding untold animals as it does.

In How to Love a Forest, forester Ethan Tapper wrote, "In a world in which a dead tree may contain four times the biomass that it held in life, I will watch the aspen's humming cavities, wondering what it means for a tree to be alive." (p. 89)

I am continually amazed at how much life is harbored in dead wood.  Since this post is lengthy enough already, I'll stop here, but in my next post I'm going to share some of the species that we're seeing in our yard BECAUSE we have left the dead wood whenever we can.  I hope you'll consider leaving some of the dead wood in your yard or garden, too. 

The Springtime Glow of Golden Ragwort

Golden Ragwort blooms
March 15, 2024

While there are many spring wildflowers that are stunningly beautiful when viewed from nearby, there aren't many that put on a bright show from afar.  One that does is Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea).

Golden Ragwort blooms
with Eastern Calligrapher (Syrphid Fly)
March 25, 2024

Viewed from near or far, Golden Ragwort is a shining star.  Or, to be more accurate, Golden Ragwort is a cluster of shining stars, often found in drifts of gold, nestled in clouds of glistening emerald green foliage.

Golden Ragwort winter foliage
February 7, 2025

Let's unpack that last statement....  One of the things that really appeals to me about Golden Ragwort is the richly shining, emerald foliage which is at its best in early spring, a time when I'm craving green.  For most of the year, this plant grows as a basal rosette of rounded leaves which can form a beautiful ground cover in mass.  The rosettes stay evergreen through the cold, ready to start growing rapidly as the days lengthen and the weather warms up.

Flower buds developing above ferny foliage
February 26, 2024

As the springtime cues of longer days and warmer temperatures come, the plants start to get "fuller and fluffier" (as my friend Barbie used to say) and, before long, ferny-looking leaves begin to appear.  The ferny leaves signal that the flower stalks are beginning to grow. 

 

Buds opening on a Golden Ragwort flower cluster
(Very blurry Asian Ladybug on center bud)
March 14, 2024

Soon clusters of green and purple buds are pushing skyward, on stems often suffused with deep purple.  By early-mid March, the buds are breaking open into clear yellowish gold, daisy-shaped flowers that appear in flat-topped clusters held about 12-18" above the ground.

Cluster of Golden Ragworts in bloom
March 15, 2024

A bed of Golden Ragworts in full bloom is breath-taking.  In a woodland setting, clusters of them scattered among trees seem to create their own dappled sunlight in the shade.  Even a single plant in full bloom is a bright accent that inevitably draws the eye.

Which brings me to one of the great characteristics of Golden Ragwort: it grows in a variety of conditions, ranging from full sun to fairly heavy shade, and from moderately dry soil to quite damp conditions.  If you'd ask me where it does best, I'd say moist soil in light shade, but it looks good in a variety of settings. 

 

Two flower stems munched by deer
March 5, 2024

On top of its ease of siting, Golden Ragwort is also easy to transplant and grow.  Best of all, it is fairly resistant to deer and other critters grazing on it.  I've never noticed signs of rabbits munching and the vole damage I've seen seemed to be almost accidental from their runs running nearby.  There is one time of year when the deer seem to snack on it in our yard: that is when the flower stalks are pushing up, before they bloom.  I've hypothesized that the flower stalks must have less of the defensive chemicals than the foliage has overall.  In any event, if we remember to spray deer deterrent on the plants during this relatively brief period of time, the deer seem to leave the plants strictly alone.  If we forget the deer spray?  Well, the plants bloom anyway, just lower and later in the season.

Besides deer, Golden Ragwort can help with other pests in the garden.  In the native plant community, there is a growing awareness that some native plant species can help keep invasive plants at bay.  Golden Ragwort is one of those species.  Several years ago, Nancy Lawson, the Humane Gardener, wrote a post "How to Fight Plants with Plants" describing how she first observed this happening in her own garden, with Golden Ragwort keeping Garlic Mustard from taking over.  In our garden, I find little or no Japanese Stilt Grass, one of the worst invasives in our yard, in the area where Golden Ragwort grows thickly.

Golden Ragwort seeds
April 22, 2024

What are the downsides of Golden Ragwort?  There are always a few downsides, right?  Well, this plant does like to seed itself around a bit.  It's easy to pull out the seedlings - and they make a great source of new plants to increase your own plantings or to gift to friends - but you will probably find some seedlings around.

Because of its strong growth habits, Golden Ragwort is absolutely capable of overpowering a "shy" or slow-growing plant nearby.  I would not, for example, plant it with bloodroot.  It does do well, however, with several of the fall asters and other such strong growers.

Fading Golden Ragwort blooms juxtaposed
with newly opening Viburnum blossoms
April 18, 2024

The last downside is that this plant's "ugly phase", the time period when it's done blooming, it's forming seeds, and its flower spikes are drying up and turning brown, occurs just as the rest of the garden is swinging into full spring bloom.  While that can be a great thing, because the visual focus moves on to other plants, it can also be disconcerting to have "dead blooms" during peak garden bloom time.  If neatness is important to you, you can always cut the spent flower stalks off, disposing of them or putting them on a brush pile where birds would still have access to the seeds.  The basal rosettes will soon plump up nicely and you'll have a pleasing ground cover for the remainder of the year. 

Next comes my favorite part of talking about any native plant - the animal community it belongs to!  Not surprisingly, given that there aren't a lot of perennials blooming at this time of year, a lot of pollinators and other insects are drawn to Golden Ragwort.  A brief look through the photos I've taken over the last two years shows at least 25 different insect species using this plant - and I know I didn't catch photos of all the insects I saw.  Here are a few highlights, chosen to show the variety of insects drawn to Golden Ragwort.....

Three-cornered Alfalfa Hopper
March 12, 2024

Not all insects that use Golden Ragwort are using the flowers.  One of the first insects I saw last spring was this Three-cornered Alfalfa Hopper (Spissistilus festinus), a species of treehopper that is known to feed on a wide variety of plants.  Treehoppers suck sap to feed, but I saw no sign of any damage to the plant from its feeding actions.  This individual probably overwintered as an adult.

Syrphid fly
March 14, 2024

I commonly see syrphid flies of several species feeding at Golden Ragwort blooms or hovering around the plants.  I don't know the exact species of this individual, but it's in the genus Syrphus, one of many syrphid fly groups whose larvae are voracious aphid predators.  Since this individual is not feeding, it may actually be scouting for a site to lay eggs.  A single syrphid fly larva can consume up to 400 aphids as it grows, so these are great "neighbors" to have in your garden.  Syrphid flies tend to overwinter as pupae either on plants, in the leaf litter, or in the soil.

Syrphid fly laying an egg next to aphids
on Golden Ragwort
March 15, 2024

This syrphid fly, also a Syrphus sp., is almost assuredly laying eggs.  I have a sequence of photos of this individual which I love because, if you zoom in really close, you can see several (green) aphids just to the left of the tip of her abdomen.  Mom's making sure her babies will have their meals served fresh upon their arrival!

Cellophane Bee
March 25, 2024

This photo just makes me smile.  Can you imagine visiting restaurants so replete with food that you end up literally coated with it as you eat?  Well, when I phrase it that way, it sounds rather gross...but this bee looks like she's whole-heartedly enjoying her meal.  This is a cellophane bee (Collettes sp.), one of the native bees that builds a solitary nest in the ground.   Cellophane bees coat the walls of their nests with a polyester secretion to protect their developing young, hence the name cellophane bee.

Blueberry Digger Bee
March 16, 2024

Another native bee I always love to see each spring is the Blueberry Digger Bee (Habropoda laboriosa), a.k.a. the Southeastern Blueberry Bee, which looks like a small bumble bee.  This powerhouse ia a buzz pollinator and a specialist in pollinating blueberry blossoms.  It may, however, nectar at other flowers, as this one is doing.  According to Bugguide, in her adult lifetime, a single female Blueberry Digger Bee may visit around 50,000 blueberry flowers, producing over 6000 blueberries by her actions.  These bees only fly for a few weeks in the spring; their adulthood is timed to coincide with the bloom season of blueberries.  As is common for many of the solitary bees, there is only one generation each year.  Not surprisingly, given their name, this species nests in the ground.

Damselfly, March 20, 2024

Where flowers attract pollinators and other insects, predators will follow.  This damselfly is a good example.  Dragonflies and damselflies have excellent eyesight and can be hard to sneak up on to photograph...which is another way of saying that I'm sorry for the poor quality of this photo!

Greater Bee Fly
March 31, 2023

This cute little teddy-bear of an insect is a bee fly, specifically a Greater Bee Fly (Bombylius major).  Don't let its cute looks deceive you:  bee flies are parasitoids on solitary bee species.  The female Greater Bee Fly flicks her eggs into the nest openings of ground-nesting solitary bees or lays her eggs on the flowers she visits.  When the eggs hatch, the larvae are mobile and either hitch a ride back to the nest on the female bee, or move into the nest from where the egg was laid near the entrance.  Once inside the bee's burrow, the bee fly larvae eat up the stores of pollen and nectar that the mother bee has stored for her larvae, as well as feeding on the bee larvae themselves.  The bee fly then pupates in the bee's nest and emerges in the spring.  This is an example of one of nature's feedback loops that helps keep species in balance with each other and with plant resources.

 

Path of Phyllocnistis insignis, a leafminer moth, 
on the upper surface of a Golden Ragwort leaf
June 25, 2023

You will frequently see the tracery of a leafminer mine on one of the Golden Ragwort leaves.  Leafminers, which may be tiny moths, flies, or wasps, are very host specific and are often associated with only one or a few species of plants.  Phyllocnistis insignis, a tiny moth with no common name, is the leafminer that uses Golden Ragwort leaves.   It does not harm the plant at all.  If you look closely at the winter foliage photo near the beginning of this post, you'll also see a leafminer mine on one of the leaves.

Although I'm always tempted to bore folks to tears by showing photos of ALL the insects I've seen using a particular plant, I think I'll close with just one more.

Camouflaged Looper
April 5, 2024

Camouflaged Loopers, the caterpillar of the Wavy-lined Emerald (Synchlora aerata), are common in our yard from spring through fall.  They are masters of disguise, covering themselves with bits of petal from the flowers they are eating.  The adult moth is a beautiful light green with delicate white markings, although I see the adults much less frequently than I see the caterpillars.  While these caterpillars do eat petals, they're relatively small and they do only cosmetic damage.  Honestly, I love finding them - I always feel like I've found a little treasure.

Speaking of treasures, that's what I consider Golden Ragwort in my garden.  

Where can you find this beauty if you want to add some to your garden?  Well, I've never seen it at a standard nursery or big box store, but I do see it regularly at native plant nurseries, native plant sales, and online in the inventory of native plant companies.  Because Golden Ragwort reseeds nicely, it may be available at local Master Gardener sales, too.  In fact, if you're really lucky, a friend may share some with you...or you may find a clump growing naturally in your yard.  That's how I got introduced to this plant here in SE Virginia!

Whether you choose to grow this plant in your garden or to just admire it when you see it growing wild, you'll know what a great native plant those golden blooms are signaling when their sunshiny glow catches your eye.