Milkweed & Fireflies - ONCE UPON A CONEFLOWER

A Bee’s Eye View

If you were a bee, what would you see? Thanks to the wonders of macro photography and scientific research, it’s easier than ever to imagine what a bee sees. Here’s a fascinating peek at a pollinator’s world filled with stigmas, stamens, pollen and nectar. We often forget flowers are sex organs after all, decked out with ingenious mechanisms to encourage visitation and ultimately pollination.

The photos above show the “cavernous” centers of two daylilies and an echinacea cone. Imagine being a bee or other pollinator at the edge of a daylily bloom — it must be like peering into a volcano!

A New Invasive: Box Tree Moth

Box Tree Moth, courtesy of Cornell: Photo by Matteo Maspero and Andrea Tantardini

An article in today’s Washington Post caught my eye about a new Asian species of moth spotted in this counrty, one I hadn’t heard of before. I quickly did a bit of research. According to Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, we indeed have another invasive species to worry about: the box tree moth. As if spotted lanternflies weren’t bad enough!

Carefree Camassia for Spring Borders

Camassia cusickii

Here’s a native bulb with an fascinating history you might not know about. Camassia, also called camas, Great Camas, camash, quamash, Indian hyacinth or wild hyacinth, is comprised of five species native to the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. There is also an eastern species C. scilloides, or Atlantic camassia. They are all members of the asparagus family.