The peonies in these parts start bursting forth in June, and for the longest time I thought ants helped the peonies bloom; they somehow helped the blooms open up. Well, according to this great article by George Vopal from a few years back . . .

Even though the Cabbage White Butterfly caterpillar is a major pest to brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, et cetera), the white butterfly can be a pretty sight as it flits about, and it can be quite the quick flitter . . .

The late evening sun bathes a Bumblebee in rim light as it buzzes to its next destination among the flowers.

The monarch activity has begun to wane as September winds down, and really enjoyed their visits over the last several weeks. Sometimes several monarchs were active at once, along with the birds, bees, moths and other creatures . . .

Finally had a visit last week from one of my favorite little flying machines, a Hummingbird Clearwing sphinx moth. These 1 1/2 inch long pollinators can beat their wings up to 70 beats per second versus a Hummingbird of around 50 beats per second . . .

A female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail captured in flight while flitting among the flowers.