The Jasmine Wall Diner

  The jasmine vine is in full bloom and the yard smells divine!  With this aroma wafting on the cooling bay breeze, every critter for miles (it seems) has decided to come taste the nectar.  There is nothing more inviting to nectar drinking insects than to have an entire wall of flowers from which to choose.  Bumblebees, honeybees, milkweed bugs, moths, butterflies and ants are all visiting.  They are feasting alongside the hummingbirds so the entire fence line is a busy place.

  I headed out to trim back the wisteria that has decided to join the roses and jasmine on the fence.  This is a volunteer plant but mingles well as long as I can keep the wild vines from choking everything else.  My trimming came to a quick halt when I realized that, besides the insects and hummers, another bunch of critters were in the jasmine.  The tiny green tree frogs were hiding among the leaves.  I would have hated to accidentally snipped a froggy! These little frogs are smart.  They know that the blooms will attract millions of insects so they sit and wait for the opportune moment to catch a meal.  It seems that the jasmine wall is a feeding place for many.

  Watching the frog for a moment, I noticed that a weird black and orange beetle was also on the vines.  It took me a moment to realize that this beauty was a milkweed bug.  While these critters do not really hurt the plants, they do reproduce rapidly and can make the garden look quite infested.  Well, this one probably won't.  That sweet froggy was watching the bug's every move.  Buggy may have become Froggy's lunch!