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[jwbenning]

It's been a dry year for Cup Plant (Silphium perfoliatum), but lucky for this Longhorn bee (probably Melissodes trinodis), flowering has begun! https://www.instagram.com/p/CRl-JBrMvwT/?utm_medium=tumblr

[jwbenning]

We're entering peak #purple, or Prince 🙏, season here at the TinyHaus #prairie. Hoary Vervain, Beebalm, Purple Coneflower, and Leadplant coming in strong. Hot yellow summer is up next! . . #rewilding #wildflowers #tinyhausgardens https://www.instagram.com/p/CREaxi1Mysa/?utm_medium=tumblr

[jwbenning]

Black and gold bumblebee (Bombus auricomus) checking out the Monarda fireworks in the backyard. These are big bees! Lil bomber jets. #nativebees #nativeplants #tinyhausgardens (at Minneapolis, Minnesota) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRDU9THMkwT/?utm_medium=tumblr

[jwbenning]

Looking for collaborators: I provide the peppers, you make the hot sauce or salsa and give me a jar 😂 I know I have habaneros and jalapenos here, but unsure on the other varieties...bought a mixed bag of 🔥 🌶️ https://www.instagram.com/p/CFS165unNR0/?igshid=zde0zhyruzku

[jwbenning]

Morning dew on the backside of a borage bloom . . #wildflowers #tinyhausgardens https://www.instagram.com/p/CEwpD5Ul5bX/?igshid=1wo9cwqnstj3p

[jwbenning]

Poor wet bumble boy! (on Hoary Vervain after a storm) https://www.instagram.com/p/CD2LyUuH7ND/?igshid=100keyvc1l21

[jwbenning]

Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) flowers don't produce nectar. But they do have extra-floral nectaries, little brown nectar cups at the base of their leaves. Ants are the most famous nectary visitors, as it has been shown that by attracting ants with nectaries the plant thus assembles a defensive force to help ward off herbivores. But there's lots of diversity at the nectary buffet! I saw all these insects and more in a single small patch of Partridge Pea in our backyard in the span of a few minutes. https://www.instagram.com/p/CD1LWdSHRiH/?igshid=28dt3nl2osim

[jwbenning]

Loving the floral variation showing up in these Prairie coneflower (Ratibida columnifera) sourced from a single population in MN. Who needs new mutations when you have standing variation like this! #wildflowers #nativeplants #tinyhausgardens https://www.instagram.com/p/CDoZFHlHFHC/?igshid=2yoe1efzl6zs

[jwbenning]

We spend a lot of time cultivating native plants in the yard for the benefit of bees (and other insects) , but man, do the pollinators ever love dill! 🤷‍♂️ #pollinators #tinyhausgardens https://www.instagram.com/p/CDHFH9gHcHe/?igshid=89zx13i0ywrw

[jwbenning]

Canada Wild Rye -- such elegance, such grace! One of our lovely native grasses that establishes early and readily. #nativeplants #tinyhausgardens https://www.instagram.com/p/CDEIdBYHAWz/?igshid=mfdqie6asljw

[jwbenning]

Damselfly hanging out on my favorite grass...who can guess the species?? Those anthers! 😻 #tinyhausgardens https://www.instagram.com/p/CC8j_jVnnhL/?igshid=1hmml0krv44gl

[jwbenning]

A thirsty Red Admiral sampling the Echinacea nectar. Check out that proboscis! Can even see the pollen grains sticking to it. . . #pollinators #butterfly #wildflowers #macro #nature #prairie #conservation #nativeplants #tinyhausgardens https://www.instagram.com/p/CC64bBun1ty/?igshid=y4rn3clxkun2

[jwbenning]

Lil' Blu's fave grass is, obvi, Schizachyrium scoparium https://www.instagram.com/_jbenning/p/BxXYRzPls48/?igshid=28lclpqsf8oo

[jwbenning]

Nerd: An Origin Story (at Louisburg, North Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpfsUMXA3im/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=hvzlb5hh7jvg

[jwbenning]

We were somewhere around #Minneapolis, on the edge of the river, when the #catnip began to take hold (at Minneapolis, Minnesota)

[jwbenning]

#ArcticCat (at Minneapolis, Minnesota)

[jwbenning]

lol #California #foothills #fieldwork . . . @garminfitness #fitness #science (at Kern River Valley)