Hopper nymph.

I suspect this is an early instar differential grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis), clinging to an amaranth inflorescence. In the Tacoma Street Wash, Sierra Vista, Arizona.

The Duke.

This first-year Anna’s hummingbird has started spending watchful days on a twig a few feet from the feeder, which he apparently considers his private supply. Any other bird that approaches (except the Gila woodpecker) gets driven off. He does seem to recognize me; he will hover within a few inches of my face to get a better look.

Anna’s hummingbird / colibrí cabeza rojo (Calypte anna), Sierra Vista, Arizona. His striking head and gorget feathers are just coming in, but his pugnacious attitude is fully developed.

Sulphur cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) at the Sierra Vista Community Garden.

Cloudless sulphur butterfly (Phoebis sennae) with tattered wings, at the Sierra Vista Community Garden.

Damage to a butterfly’s forewing along the upper margin, especially at the wing tip, can significantly impact its speed and gliding potential. The wing damage on this butterfly is unlikely to limit its flight abilities at all.

Etymology note: This butterfly is cloudless because it is bright and shining in the sunlight. The generic name is derived from the Greek word phoibos (Φοῖβος), which was used to describe the bright and shining appearance of the sun god Apollo.

Climbing milkweed florets (Funastrum cynanchoides), and a throng of golden oleander aphids (Aphis nerii*) on a milkweed seed pod.

At the Sierra Vista Community Garden.

*My spellcheck software insisted that nerii should be amended to nerd. Autocorrect despises Latinos Scientific Latinus Scientificus.

Untitled.

Untitled.

Untitled.

Pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor) speckled with pollen, at the Sierra Vista Community Garden.

This butterfly goes by several Spanish common names in its Central American range. My favorite is sombra tornasol - the iridescent shadow.

Thoughts I Have Thunk

This is how it began.

Image adapted from an illustration by Ruth Chrisman Gannett for My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett, 1948. The complete text and illustrations of this wondrous book are available at Project Gutenberg.