Great pictures! I really like the spider one. My favorite little wildlife is a hummingbird. I think it is amazing how far they can travel with those little wings.
Ann

frog friend and bad blister beetles

Great photos. Love the garden spider. I've haven't seen many of those this year. I have several orb(I think) spiders around my yard though. I've run into their webs so many times lately I couldn't count. The neighbors would think I'm wacky I suppose if I walked around the yard swinging a broom in front of me as I go but I've been picking sticky spider webs out of my hair every time I go outside and it's creepy.

Christie you don't like spiders but I hope this one is an exception. I don't see many either, I like them as well as the flowers. All my pictures click to enlarge - Bee on sweet autumn clematis

I was right . I have never seen a blister beetle before.
thanks for the pic Helen. Now I know what to watch for.
I'm with christie on the spiders. yuck.
I really like hummers too.
I like butterflies also.

I was pulling weeds and found this wolf spider with eggs. I put her on my flowers so all those babies can eat bugs. I put it in my sink to take its picture. These spiders are good for your garden. Click to enlarge.

Do you have favorite small wildlife? I'd like to see them. Click to enlarge.
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That's a well-fed toad Helen.
I'm going to vote with Ann. Hummingbirds are my favorite. Butterflies are a close second. Here's my two favorite butterflies:

Dragonflies aren't really a favorite but it took me a long time to get a close-up of one of these so I'll post it anyway. lol

We've had a couple little frogs keeping up company in the evenings. Wish I had a clearer picture. This one is on the outside of our family room window. The light from the room attracts flying insects and the kids and I have been able to watch them zap insects from only a few inches away.

Here's one of my LEAST favorite.

What is the first butterfly? My monarchs are too fast for me. I like dragonflys. When I buy garden stakes, I go for the hummingbird and dragonfly designs. The little tree frog on the window is one of my favorites. I have them on my kitchen window.

I have toads and just yesteray I saw my first frog, he
jumped so fast I couldn't get a pic. I also like butterflies . I enjoyed all the pics. My SIL was a
biology teacher and always was getting some small
living creatures for his classes. Happy gardening
caroline

Great pictures everyone!

helen, congratulations on getting the shot of the bee. We have had hundreds of those carpenter bees this year, but I haven't been able to get a shot of one.

We also have lots of the little blue and white striped skinks, lots of frogs/toads. Got a very tiny frog in the kitchen window the other day and we couldn't believe the big noise it made. Finally got it out the screen to the outside.

Still having a few butterflies and hummers too.

The first butterfly is a Tiger Swallowtail. I usually only spot those once or twice a summer but have seen them around my yard quite a bit this summer.
My son's third grade teacher kept an aquarium in her room and let the kids put anything they could catch in there to look at for awhile. They learn so much that way and get so excited. Wish more teachers were that tolerant. I'm sure the kids enjoyed your SILs class Caroline.

I think I might've seen a lizard this week when we were cleaning out the fencerow. Something zipped by so quick I could barely see it but it looked like it had light green or yellow stripes and was several inches long. I don't think it was a snake. Wish I had gotten a better look at it. I've never seen a lizard of any kind in my yard before.

I move wheel bugs from my weeds to my yard. They can stick you, but usually they prey on pests. I have several of these on my milkweed. It is funny how I don't mind a ratty looking plant with caterpillers eating it. I like climbing milkweed; it smells good when it blooms. Click to enlarge.
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I find lots of interesting insects in my yard but I haven't seen a wheel bug for a few years. This year I have more spiders than I've ever seen before. I have a long shrub row along my property line that's around 120 feet long and there are big beautiful spider webs only a few feet apart along the whole length of it.
Is the bottom photo climbing milkweed?

Yes it is climbing milkweed and supposed to be a bad weed, but I encourage it. The flowers are insignificant except for the fragrance. I don't find the vine anymore of a problem than the other vines taking over my yard. I have it in a mockorange shrub and under a bradford pear near my other milkweed plants. It has the same seed pods as the pink milkweed; that is how I first found it.

Looks like the monarchs like your climbing milkweed.

There were two of these little green frogs on my weigela 'Wine and Roses' yesterday. It's funny that I've been seeing so many frogs but no toads. But this week I've been seeing a couple HUGE toads around my driveway. I thought they were bullfrogs at first.

Have you ever put those little frogs on different backgrounds to see them change color? From your posts I get the idea your kids might be interested in that. Some of them can change from gray to green. I wouldn't keep them in captivity long, but it is fun to observe them.

I have been working out moving iris and have seen several toads when I turn over a brick or some other thing I seem to have here and there in the garden.

I also drove the mower through a swarm of what looked like lightening bugs all in the mating process; never seen that before! There were 100's of them.

Can't love the spiders...sorry...yuckie yuckie yuckie.....(I'm getting creeped out just looking at the pictures on previous posts)....another yuckie.....

Pam

Gld - I've been seeing lots of these and they look somewhat like lightning bugs - same size anyway. There were dozens on my eupatorium Chocolate. Hope they're not bad bugs because I have a lot of them this year.

Pam - I'm ok with spiders until I run into a web. lol

I think those are soldier beetles that are beneficial.

Here is a link that might be useful: see third paragraph

I sure hope that's what mine were. christie's were definitely them, I would say.

I haven't seen them in a while.

It is so refreshing to see swarms of insects that are good for the garden!

I think I have seen more huge praying mantis than
ever before, really long ones.

These are the only snakes I handle. They feel smooth and soft but put out a stink and some liquid when you handle them. I have been finding them under boards. Click to enlarge.
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Ok Helen - What's the textured surface in the background of those photos? Is that your bathtub? You're more brave than I am. I'd be afraid they would escape. lol

I've only seen one of those large praying mantises this summer. I looked for a jar to put it in for the kids and then it was gone. I've read they get to be six inches long but the one I found was only about four inches - still bigger than our native ones. How big are the ones you've seen Gld?

It is my bathtub. They are very wiggley and won't stop to have their pictures taken. Here is a friend - orate box turtle placed by me in a flat of violas.