What a week!

Yes, that was a week. New air conditioner, repairs to the fireplace, and cataract surgery referral. 

We had a great week with the girls. Lots of good food: pears, small pies for dessert (blueberry and rhubarb), leftover meatloaf, dumplings with coleslaw and spiralized carrots. 

We managed a swim on Thursday. It's not as big as their pool at home, but the three of us fit in.

Isabelle has fun with her sunblock shirt. 

Toweling off, we shared a moment.

Nutmeg was quite friendly.

Puzzle time

There are 7 frogs in the goldfish pond. With the dryness, they began to move in. We've since had rain. 

Next, the water snake and garter snakes will be back.

The doe managed to 'trim' my two transplanted hostas. Ah well.

What I love about this time of year are the hummingbird hawk moths and the sphinx moths, who frequent the monarda and other flowers.

Macroglossum

For more critters: 

Saturday's Critters #344

I told the girls about the baby flicker in the nest, but no one wanted to face the bugs!

baby flicker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Sphingidae family; Hawk Moths, or Hummingbird Moths – another 'last one'

Diurnal clearwing: a smaller sphinx moth
AKA Hummingbird moth

 Here is another critter that will soon disappear. The Hawk Moths, or Hummingbird Moths are fascinating.

Here are some of my giant moth photos. Most are nocturnal, I'd guess to avoid birds! Hubby was reading in the backyard the other day and a dragonfly landed on his book, carrying a spider larger than the dragonfly's head, and promptly began to eat it!

Paonias excaecata
Blinded sphinx

I do depend on the volunteer experts at BAMONA to help me ID them. You'll notice that the Butterfly and Moth books feature very few caterpillars. Thing is, we see them flit about the garden as moths, but it is so much easier to photograph them as caterpillars, and then they cocoon and fly away for the rest of the seasons (Fall, winter, spring.) It is most discouraging that they are hard to differentiate at the caterpillar stage.

Sphinx Chersis

Hubby helped with photos!

You can see the size of them!

Of course, once I get into my files, I find more of the lovely moths that I shall miss, once winter sets in.

Io moth;  Saturniidae; Automeris io

We're not sure which one my 8cm caterpillar might be, but since I've had quite a few Hyles lineata; White-lined Sphinx. They adore my phlox plants and I've battled mosquitoes in the night to get photos. Here are a few shots of the nocturnal beauties.

The Sphingidae belong to the Superfamily Sphingoidea.
Members of this family are commonly called "hummingbird," "sphinx," or "hawk" moths, and some can be mistaken for hummingbirds. Most are medium to large moths, with heavy bodies; wingspread reaches 5 inches or more in some species. The Sphingidae are strong and fast fliers, with a rapid wingbeat.
I'm thinking that this caterpillar might be the

Tersa Sphinx; Xylophanes tersa. Family: Sphingidae Subfamily: Macroglossinae

They have a fairly unmarked body.

Or Sphinx chersis
Great ash sphinx

Here is my large caterpillar buddy, found in my Wild Oregano patch. I was tempted to keep it in my aquarium, and let it morph there, but I didn't want to risk it. I found it the next day, in the same patch (such little feet) , took a few more photos and set it back down in the oregano.

Sphinx moths, Aren't they huge?

I have had expert confirmation:
Lintneria eremitus Hermit sphinx

Sphingidae family: Hawk moths, or hummingbird moths

caterpillar from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
I've yet to ID this caterpillar with a horn on its butt. 8cm long and a large eye spot. Twas munching on my wild oregano plants on the front lawn. It is, most certainly, Sphingidae family: Hawk moths, or hummingbird moths. They are the large ones!

Lintneria eremitus Hermit sphinx