New Pocket Prairie at Oak Park Main LibraryLibrary garden (Purple Coneflowers, Showy Goldenrod, Anise Hyssop in bloom.Oak Park Main Library’s Pocket Prairie in the fall. They added a S.H.A.R.E. sign, which stands for Simply Have Areas Reserved for the Environment from the Pollinator PartnershipCascade of Joe Pye, Big Bluestem, Purple Coneflowers, Mountain Mint (Beye School)Splendor of Rose/Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) (Beye School)Cicada Killer on Swamp MilkweedShowy Tick Trefoil in bloom at Wolf Road PrairieMeadowhawk perched on Obedient Plant; New England Aster foregroundHoary Vervain and Wild QuinineWild SennaCoreopsis, Mountain Mint, Purple Coneflowers, a Liatris peeking in on the rightBee Balm and Flat-topped Aster in bloom. Lower right, White Snakeroot foliageNative bee from the Megachile genus (leafcutter, solitary)Same bee showing off her abdomen used for collecting pollen; tiny sweat bee waiting its turnParasitoid wasp ovipositing (laying eggs) in what looks like a syrphid fly larva, who was on the milkweed going after aphids. Parasitoids, though considered beneficial, do no discriminate; anything with a soft body is food for her offspringMass of lacewing eggs laid near aphids on milkweed. Tempting to squish the aphids, but if you wait predators will come.
