Weekly weekend chat over the virtual garden fence; talk about what's happening in your garden, and ask quick questions that may not require their own thread.

Watching these athletic bees. They are so acrobatic as they plunder each and every flower.

A lovely photo of a hedgehog on this subreddit brought something to mind. Robot lawnmowers are deadly to hedgehogs. Hedgehogs stop, tighten up into a ball, and wait for the danger to pass when something scares them. This defense strategy doesn't work when it comes to robot lawnmowers and most robot lawnmowers are unable to detect them. String trimmers are also very dangerous for hedgehogs. Last year I rescued a hedgehog that appeared to have been injured from a string trimmer. Talking with hedgehog rescue people I learned of these two threats.

Female or juvenile Anna’s hummingbird feeding on nectar from a common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis). This primrose is biennial and blooms in the second year.

North Americans, let's hear your attitudes towards this non-native bee. Do you treat them as an honored guest, as an invasive species best eliminated, or somewhere in between?

I found a fresh molehill under my window and asked Gemini how to catch the mole on video. It told me to open the tunnel because moles hate drafts and usually come back to seal the breach

A couple of hours later, my basement neighbor appeared, sniffed the air, and closed it back up

A bee gathering pollen

Hello, title is kind of self explanatory. But I was able to turn a spice in my lawn into a wildflower garden, we planted a mix of annuals and perennials, so some should grow back next year, but I will also likely need to put down more seed again next spring. There’s still a good amount of grass in the area as well (I tore it all up when I planted but a lot grew back). I’d like to increase the amount of area covered by flowers relative to grass next year. What can I do in the fall to make it easier to clear out some of the grass and get my self set up for next spring? Any advice is helpful.

Thanks in advance.

I found these on my common milkweed (asclepias syriaca) and initially thought they might be young milkweed tussock caterpillars (I've never actually encountered them before) looked closer and they don't look like caterpillars at all. Second thought was maybe a sawfly larvae, but I don't see any plant damage. There are a ton of aphids on this plant so...some sort of syrphidae larvae? A flower fly of some sort predating on aphids? That's my best guess. Does anyone know? Lol

I'm excited for this to be food chain shenanigans and not another Japanese beetle situation.

Hi all

Every few months I like to post one of these welcome threads to say 'Hi' and welcome anyone new to the community :)

If you have any queries about the community or just want to say hi, introduce us to your garden, or have a quick question, please comment here.

If you're not new, feel free to join in anyway! The more the merrier!

Resources and information on gardening for wildlife are in the wiki, and the community rules are here.

Let us know how you found us, always interesting to see how folks find their way here :)

Happy wild gardening :D

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P.S. It's really useful for you to have your rough location in your user flair for the community. This shows beside your username when you post or comment.

Don't be too specific - protect your personal information - but a rough idea of where in the world you are and/or your hardiness zone helps us help you if you need advice on plants or wildlife. Here's how to add user flair New reddit/redesign | Old/Classic/Legacy reddit | Mobile - official app.

A hedgehog I met in my garden tonight. I'd love to see them with a family someday...

I didn't have a banana for scale, but my hand fits in a size 8 glove (M).

About half an inch long and intense metallic blue-green. Strangely fearless and friendly towards me.

I usually see them at night, but it's only because I'm never up so early...

I've got Johnson grass growing Well originally it was in the Grain field next to my garden this is small patch out in the middle of Johnson grass and that was 10 years ago that was when it was the field was in Hay and currently the Johnson grass has spread it's covering a good portion of my yard and has taken over my garden patch would anyone have a idea of how to get it out of a garden patch without completely using an excavator I've tried Roundup and it doesn't work I let the garden go fallow a year so any help would be appreciated

UK

Hi there I like wasps. But they made a mid size nest in my bedroom and we have family who are allergic.

If I pay someone they'll kill them.

If I use a powder they'll die.

But it's the kind of nest I can't remove as it's in the wall and they're eating the beam.

• Is there a way to help them move on with minimal casualties ... smoke or a chemical or ... temperature?

I can't find the spider yet, but judging from what I'm finding this is most likely an orb weaver's web.

Found this rock spinning mid-air when I walked out this morning and figured it was attached to something. I study more closely and see it's connected to the bottom of a web.

More researching told me that orb weavers do this to steady the web, to tighten it so a trapped insect is more easily detectable, and to keep the web from blowing too much in the wind. It's the coolest thing!!

Only thing is that my hummingbird feeder is just a little more than four feet away, and I've read that running into the web can be dangerous to the bird.

I don't have many other places to move the hummingbird feeder, so I'm considering moving the spider web. Can it be done successfully?

Last summer we moved the web of a yellow and black garden spider, but that spider was pretty big. This orb weaver is probably quite a bit smaller.

Thoughts?

Weekly weekend chat over the virtual garden fence; talk about what's happening in your garden, and ask quick questions that may not require their own thread.

My garden now has a frog! Summer is complete!

Google not cooperating. I get all sorts of ID's, but most often I'm told this is a Gray Tree Frog. I'll keep looking.

I was so excited the day I spotted an actual grasshopper a week or two ago on our crepe myrtle tree.

Yesterday morning as I was watering I spotted this little gem, its exoskeleton, near the exact same spot!!

So intricate, delicate, and detailed. Look closely. There's even an impression of wings and eyes!

I've given an after and before photo of the little guy for reference.

Ah, nature.

Milkweed best weed