World of Wonder

I almost called this world of weird, but world of wonder is probably more accurate.  Aside from attracting birds, butterflies, and cute critters, when one opens up their eyes to the insect world, there is even more to see, admire, and enjoy.

Holes in the leaves indicate to me that I'm providing sustenance for insects, which in turn provide food for birds raising their young as well as insect predators and such.  The holes do not bother me, and for the most part, I have to look for them.  Definitely at a distance, the trees look fine.

Although, I've seen tree hoppers/leaf hoppers before, these seemed to mesmerize me.  Not only the color, but how many that seemed to congregate on the stem of one of the quaking aspens.   It excites me to wonder what new forms of life I'll encounter in the months and years to come.  The more diversity in plants I provide, the more diversity in animal life will appear.

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), one of the milkweeds, is the host to monarch and queen butterfly larvae, here's hoping this means I'll be spotting some caterpillars before too long.

Sassafras is a host plant to spicebush butterfly, tiger swallow-tail, Palamedes butterflies, and pale swallowtails.  New leaves will replace those with holes. :)

Although, I've seen this "flying fuzz" insect before, I've never been so lucky to get a photo of one.


...And one more that puts the "weird" in he wonder:

What is it?    (...more to come)