Garden Wildlife Gallery | littlebluetsnative

bee Family Megachilidae Megachile Leafcutter Bee so cute!.JPG

Wildlife Wonderland

I live in a typical suburban neighborhood, on a small ¼ acre lot, one street from a busy four-lane thoroughfare.

Over the years, I have been continually amazed at just how quickly pollinators and other wildlife have moved in to even the smallest of garden spaces in my yard, here in the middle of suburbia.

Curious of how many species of wildlife were living in my gardens, I started making a list of every bird, bug, mammal, reptile and amphibian I saw. In two years I have documented over 325 different species of wildlife.

The take away I have gotten from this:

Never underestimate the power of planting native

Here are a few examples of the wildlife I have seen in my small space...

bee Family Apidae Bombus impatiens Common Eastern Bumble Bee (19).JPG

Honey Bees

Bumble Bees
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Bumble bees are social bees that live in colonies of anywhere from 50 to a few hundred individuals.
They are big and fuzzy and collect pollen in "baskets" on their back legs.
Bumble bees are important pollinators and capable of "buzz pollination", an amazing adaptation where the bee vibrates it's muscles to release the pollen of certain flowers. About 8% of plants require buzz pollination, a few examples include tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, blueberries and cranberries. These plants hold onto their pollen tightly and in order for that pollen to be released, the pollen producing structures on the flower must be vibrated at a specific frequency.
Bumble bees are one of about 50% of bees that can buzz pollinate. Interestingly, honey bees are not capable of buzz pollination.
So, if you get tomatoes and peppers out of your vegetable garden, give a big thank you to the bumble bees!

American Bumble Bee

Bombus pensylvanicus

American Bumble Bee

Bombus pensylvanicus

American Bumble Bee

Bombus pensylvanicus

American Bumble Bee

Bombus pensylvanicus

bee Family Apidae Bombus bimaculatus Two-spotted Bumble Bee (33).JPG

Two-spotted Bumble Bee (male)

Bombus bimaculatus

Two-spotted Bumble Bee

Bombus bimaculatus

Two-spotted Bumble Bee Queen

Bombus bimaculatus

Two-spotted Bumble Bee (male)

Bombus bimaculatus

Common Eastern Bumble Bee

Bombus impatiens

Common Eastern Bumble Bee

Bombus impatiens

Common Eastern Bumble Bee

Bombus impatiens

Common Eastern Bumble Bee

Bombus impatiens

bumble bee Brown-belted Bombus griseocollis (7)_edited.jpg

Brown-belted Bumble Bee

Bombus griseocollis

Brown-belted Bumble Bee

Bombus griseocollis

Brown-belted Bumble Bee

Bombus griseocollis

Brown-belted Bumble Bee

Bombus griseocollis

Solitary Bees
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Over 90% of bees in North America are solitary. Female solitary bees create and provision their nests all by themselves. They are very hard-working mamas. About 70% of bees nest in the ground and 30% in natural tunnels like plant stems.

Mining Bee

This adorable mother mining bee collecting pollen from blue-eyed grass

Mining Bee

This mother mining bee collects pollen on her legs to take back to provision her nest

Eastern Miner Bee

This very small solitary bee on a green and gold flower

Barbara's Mining Bee

Some of our earliest bees to emerge in late winter

bee Family Andrenidae Mining Bee nest hole (3).JPG

Mining Bee Nest Holes

70% of our native bees nest in the ground, some in bare dirt.

Squash Bee

Squash bees specialist on flowers in the cucmber family. The males sleep inside the flowers

Long-horn Bee

bee Family Apidae Xylocopa virginica Eastern Carpenter Bee (15).JPG

Carpenter Bee (male)

Males may hover in your personal space, but are they harmless

bee Family Apidae Xylocopa virginica Eastern Carpenter Bee (34).JPG

Carpenter Bee (female)

One of our largest bees who are excellent pollinators

Southern Carpenter Bee

Tiny Solitary Bee

Many solitary bees are so small that they are easily overlooked or mistaken for gnats and other tiny insects

bee Family Apidae Genus Hapropoda laboriosa Southeastern Blueberry Bee (6).JPG

Southeast Blueberry Bee

This bee is active in spring and specializes on blueberry flowers

Solitary Bee in the Genus Halictidae

Tiny Sweat Bee

They may be small, but they are still important pollinators!

bee Family Halictidae Halictus rubicundus Orange-legged Furrow Bee possibly (2).JPG

Orange-legged Sweat Bee

Solitary Bee

Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee

Bright and beautiful solitary bee

Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee

Bright and beautiful solitary bee

Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee

Bright and beautiful solitary bee

bee Family Halictidae Agapostemon splendens Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee possibly (2).JP

Metallic Sweat Bee

bee Family Halictidae on Monarda seedhead (3).JPG

Solitary Bees

These solitary bees are sheltering together in the seed head of Bee Balm

Parallel-striped Sweat Bee

Halictus parallelus

Bristle Sweat Bee

Small sweat bee visiting Blue-eyed Grass

Bristle Sweat Bee

This little bee is inside the flower of WHite Beardtongue. Notice the white pollen on her leg.

Family Megachilidae

This bee collects pollen on her belly, like all of the bees in the Family Megachilidae This girl is on WIld Blue Indigo.

Georgia Mason Bee

This mason bee is collecting pollen from Lanceleaf Coreopsis

Georgia Mason Bee

This mason bee is collecting pollen from Lanceleaf Coreopsis

Georgia Mason Bee

Leafcutter Bee

Female leafcutter bee on Rattlesnake Master

Leafcutter Bee (female)

This leafcutter bee is collecting pollen from Maryland Golden Asters

Leafcutter Bee

This adorable leafcutter bee on Mountain Mint

Pycnanthemum muticum

Leafcutter Bee

This adorable leafcutter bee on Mountain Mint

Pycnanthemum muticum

bee Family Megachilidae Megachile Leafcutter Bee (19).JPG

Leafcutter Bee (female)

This adorable leafcutter bee on Mountain Mint

Pycnanthemum muticum

Leafcutter Bee

Leafcutter bees often tilt their abdomen up like this little bee.

bee Family Megachilidae Leafcutter holes in Redbud leaves.jpeg

Leafcutter Bee

Leafcutter bees chew circles in Redbud leaves. They use the leaf pieces to line their nests.

Leafcutter Bee

Leafcutter bee on Coreopsis

Leafcutter Bee (male)

Carpenter-mimic Leafcutter Bee

Leafcutter Bee (female)

Carpenter-mimc Leafcutter Bee collecting pollen on her belly

Louisiana Painted Dark Bee

Bee in the Family Megachilidae

Honey Bees
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The honey bee is by far the most familiar type of bee.
However, if your goal is to “save the bees," getting a honey bee hive won't help.
Honey bees are native to Europe—not North America—and they can compete with and negatively impact native bees.
To truly support bees, focus on planting native flowers and minimizing or eliminating pesticide use.

Honey bees are fascinating animals though!
They are the most highly social of all bee species, making them especially unique—only about 1% of the roughly 20,000 bee species worldwide exhibit such complex social structures.

In North America, they are considered livestock due to their role in pollinating certain crops, such as almonds,
as well as their production of honey and beeswax.

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Cuckoo Bees: Cleptoparasites

Nomad Bee

Cuckoo Bee

Sharp-tailed Bee

bee cuckoo bee Family Apidae Holcopasites calliopsidis Calliopsis Cuckoo Nomad Bee.JPG

Nomad Cuckoo Bee

Butterflies and Moths
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Lepidoptera

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Beautiful Butterflies in the Garden

Red Spotted Purple

Limenitis arthemis

Red Spotted Purple

Limenitis arthemis

American Lady Butterfly

Vanessa virginiensis

Red Admiral

Vanessa atalanta

Common Buckeye

Junonia coenia

Common Buckeye

Junonia coenia

Question Mark

Polygonia interrogationis

Summer Azure

Celastrina neglecta

Red-banded Hairstreak

Calycopis cecrops

Gray Hairstreak

Strymon melinus

butterfly Cloudless Sulphur Phoebis sennae (5).JPG

Cloudless Sulfur

Cleptoparasitic bee

Sleepy Orange

Eurema niccippe

Variegated Fritillary

Fritillary Euptoieta

Pearl Crescent

Phyciodes tharos

Northern Cloudywing

Thorybes pylades

Horace's Duskywing

Erynnis horatius

FIery Skipper

Hylephila phyleus

Ocola Skipper

Panoquina ocola

Silver-spotted Skipper

Epargyreus clarus

Zabulon Skipper

Lon zabulon

Zabulon Skipper

Lon zabulon

Clouded Skipper

Lerema accius

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Swallowtail Butterflies

Tiger Swallowtail (black morph)

Bee

Tiger Swallowtail

Bee

Black Swallowtail

Bee

Black Swallowtail Caterpillar instar

bee

Black Swallowtail Caterpillar

Cleptoparasitic bee

Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly

Cleptoparasitic bee

caterpillar spicebush swallowtail (2).JPG

Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar

Cleptoparasitic bee

Spicebush Swallowtail Chrysalis

Cleptoparasitic bee

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Monarch Butterfly Life Cycle

Monarch Butterfly laying eggs

Monarch egg

Monarch caterpillar

Monarch caterpillar

The first thing a monarch caterpillar eats after it hatches is an egg

Monarch caterpillar

Monarch Caterpillar

Monarch Chrysalis

Monarch Butterfly

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Moths
Due to their nocturnal nature, moths are not seen when active as much as butterflies, but they are very important in pollination and for the health of ecosystems. Many adult moths are pollinators and the caterpillars are an essential food source for nesting songbirds. All but one songbird in North Carolina exclusively feed their babies "bugs" and caterpillars are a huge percentage of that food source. American Goldenfinches are the only songbird that feed their young seeds.

Snowberry Clearwing Moth

Hemaris diffinis

Luna Moth

Actias luna

Yellow-collared Scape Moth

Cisseps fulvicollis

American Copper Underwing

Amphipyra pyramidoides

Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Banded Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Halysidota tessellaris

American Dagger Caterpillar

Acronicta americana

Virginian Tiger Moth Caterpillar

Spilosoma virginica

Saddleback Caterpillar ...

Beautiful but Do not touch this one!

Caterpillar ...

camouflaging with Purple Conflower petals

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Camouflage Caterpillars
These fascinating caterpillars attatch tiny pieces of plant material to their bodies to help them blend in with flowers

Camo Caterpillar on Black-eyed Susan

Camouflaging on a fall aster

Camo Caterpillar on Purple Coneflower

Camo Caterpillar on Coreopsis

Camouflaging on Mountain Mint

Caterpillar on Helenium

Wasps
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Wasps are most often feared, but over 98% of wasp species are solitary, gentle and very beneficial. Wasps are both pollinators for flowers as well as predators of other insects, often those that are pests in our gardens.

Thread-wasted Wasp

Thread-waisted Wasp

wasp_Blue-winged Wasp_Scolia dubia (7).JPG

Blue-winged Scoliid Wasp

wasp scoliid wasp Double-banded Scoliid Wasp Scolia bicincta.JPG

Double-banded Wasp

Scoliid Wasp

Mason Wasp

Potter Wasp

Hump-backed Beewolf

Great Black Digger Wasp

Digger Wasp

Stink Bug Wasp

Weevil Wasp

solitary ground nesting wasp

Paper Wasp

Social wasp ... use caution around nests

Yellow Jacket

Social wasp ... use caution around nests

Flies
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Flies are often disliked and considered pests, but in reality they are extremely important in a variety of ways.
Many flies are pollinators as adults, and predators or decomposers as larvae.

Flower Fly

fly Family Syrphidae_Palpada vinetorum_Northern Plushback Fly (3).JPG

Flower Fly

fly Family Syrphidae_Toxomerus geminatus_Eastern Calligrapher Fly.JPG

Flower Fly

fly Family Syrphidae_Toxomerus marginatus_Margined Calligrapher Fly (2).JPG

Flower Fly

fly Family Syrphidae Iridescent Bromeliad Fly (2).JPG

Flower Fly (& a lil' bee)

Feather-legged Fly

Soldier Fly

Predator "Bugs"
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Carolina Mantid

Dragonfly

damselyfly Fragile Forktail Ischnura posita (4).JPG

Damselfly

Lacewing larva

Lacewing adult

Assasin Bug

Assasin Bug catching a Bee

Predatory Stink Bug nymph

spider Green Lynx Spider Genus Peucetia (2).JPG

Green Linx Spider

Check out the front 4 legs on this amazing spider!

Writing Spider

Birds
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American Goldfinch (male)

Goldfinches LOVE the seeds of

Purple Coneflower and species of

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia sps).

Such a treat to watch!

American Robins

Providing clean, fresh water for birds and other wildlife, is helpful, particularly during droughts, hot weather and freezes

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Red, tubular flowers like E. Columbine, Bee Balm, Cardinal Flower and Coral Honeysuckle are favorites of hummingbirds

Carolina Chickadee and

Flowering Dogwood

Northern Cardinal (male)

Father cardinal feeding his young

Male cardinals feed their mates, as well as their youngsters. The dark colored bill is a sign that this is a young cardinal.

Pine Warbler

Pine Warblers, like all warblers, feed on mostly insects and other "bugs"

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Kinglets are winter migrants in NC. They are cute little birds that constantly flit around in the trees.

Dark-eyed Junco (female)

You can find juncos, aka Snowbirds, in Piedmont NC in the winter. The males are darker in color than the females.

White-throated Sparrow

Winter resident of piedmont NC who can be seen hopping around on the ground in gardens, looking for seeds.

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Brown-headed Nuthatchesa are cute little birds that sound like a squaky toy. Like all nuthatches they can move head first down trees!

Downy Woodpecker

creating a nest hole

Leaving snags or dead standing trees (or cutting to a safe height, provides excellent habitat for many animals

Carolina Chickadee

Bird boxes provide nesting habitat for many species of cavity nesting birds, but don't forget to plant trees/shrubs that support insects too! Songbirds require 100's of caterpillars & other insects to feed just one brood of baby birds!