Coping With The Heat...

   I can't complain, I'm sure somewhere it's been slightly hotter, drier, and downright more miserable, but this summer has just been plain hard. I try not to think about it, just put my head down and water. Yes, although virtually my whole garden is drought tolerant, it's not invincible. We've had three weeks of averaging a hundred degrees and no rain for over a month. I've been dutifully watering to keep everything alive, I've just worked too hard over the years and spent too much money to let everything die. Not only that, since all the wild plants growing in open areas outside our yard have long since gone crispy taco, the local insect population still needs to feed and I feel like I'm not only keeping my plants alive, but the insects that feed on them and from them too. In fact, this week I've noticed a significant increase in the amount of good insects (and bad, if you count Japanese Beetles) buzzing around my flowers, here's a sampling of who's beating the heat, and this time I won't be including any shots of the flower beds as a whole, it ain't pretty any more.

Today was the first day I noticed the Sulfurs were out, I think they look stunning on the Purple Coneflowers.

The Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) was quivering as if there was breeze (of which there was none!) with all the bees coming and going.

I had really hard time getting a decent picture of this fella, it wouldn't sit still! This Flower Fly is a Yellow Jacket mimic.

This hoverfly must be a girl since it seems to like diamonds...but I guess boys can like diamonds too ;-)

A Honeybee on Anise Hyssop, like the Wild Bergamot, the whole plant vibrates in the afternoon with so much bee activity.

Thread-wiasted Wasp on Short Toothed Mountain Mint (Pycanthemum muticum), I read this plant was a pollinator magnet, but I had my doubts until this week when the really cool wasps began to show up.

Wasp on Short Toothed Mountain Mint (Pycanthemum muticum).
*Remember! Wasps are a gardeners friend, many are predatory towards garden "pests", they're natural pest control, they are not to be feared, and are important links in the ecosystem chain! Never use pesticides anywhere!

A Long-Horned Flower Beetle hiding amidst the tangle of foliage

A beautiful Assassin Bug looking for a snack on the Anise Hyssop

A mystery bee or bee mimic, this one really has me perplexed. It's about the size of a honeybee, but looks white, and the wings are lighter in color than a bumblebee or honeybee. Any guesses?