Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?

The answer to last week’s mystery is gold-marked thread-waisted wasp, Eremnophila aureonotata, pictured in photo #2.

The gold-marked thread-waisted wasp, Eremnophila aureonotata, is native to North America, ranging from southern Canada into Mexico. Despite their fierce appearance, these wasps are not aggressive and rarely sting humans.

They’re easy to recognize by their extremely thin, stalk-like abdomen, which helps the female maneuver when laying eggs or fending off predators. Solitary by nature, they sometimes appear in pairs during mating, with the male clinging to the female’s back as they fly from flower to flower. They are frequent visitors to goldenrods, spotted horsemint, boneset, and other Summer-blooming asters, playing an important role as pollinators.

Females dig nests in sandy soil, then paralyze large moth caterpillars and drag them back as food for their young. Once the nest is stocked with live food, she seals the entrance and covers it with bits of twigs, leaves, and small stones to better conceal it. The developing wasp larva inside will feed on the provided caterpillar until emerging as adults the following year.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?

The answer to last week’s mystery is the passion flower, Passiflora incarnata, pictured in photo #2.

The passion flower, Passiflora incarnata, also known as maypop or purple passionflower, is a perennial vine native to the southeastern United States.

Its striking blooms feature five stamens, a pistil of three styles and stigmas, and a dramatic corona of filaments. These flowers are irresistible to butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Large bees such as the eastern carpenter bee are especially effective pollinators – the anthers are perfectly positioned to brush pollen onto a bee’s back as it rummages for nectar. The flower’s intricate structure once inspired symbolic links to the Christian crucifixion story, giving it the name “Passion.”

Despite its tropical appearance, this hardy plant can withstand temperatures as low as 0°F. Maypop vines can grow more than 20′ long and spread readily by root suckers in sandy or clayey soils where there is abundant sunlight. Their edible fruits – large, orange-yellow berries that “pop” when crushed – can be eaten fresh or used for juice and jelly. Passion flowers are also vital larval hosts for butterflies, including the Gulf fritillary, zebra longwing, Red-banded hairstreak, and Julia butterfly.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?

The answer to last week’s mystery is goldenrod, Solidago, pictured in photo #2.

Goldenrods are herbaceous perennials belonging to the Asteraceae, or aster, family. There are 75 species of goldenrod native to the United States. They range in hight from under a foot to more than 6′.

Goldenrods are easily recognized by their clusters of tiny, golden flowers that appear in mid to late-August and last into October. These flowers are heavy with pollen that sticks to insects, rather than disperses in the wind. Therefore, goldenrod pollen will not make you sneeze.

All goldenrods are pollinator powerhouses. They bloom in succession, supporting more butterflies and moths than any other perennial. The rapidly disappearing monarch butterfly relies on goldenrod nectar to fuel their long Fall migration to Mexico. Goldenrods are one of the most important late-season sources of pollen and nectar for bees who are provisioning their nests for Winter.=

Goldenrods naturalize quickly in the garden and are easy to grow in full sun and dry-medium, well-drained soil. They have a deep, fibrous root system, and can help prevent soil erosion and improve soil structure.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.

Happy Mystery Monday!

Can you guess what is pictured in photo #1?

The answer to last week’s mystery is milkweed, Asclepias, pictured in photo #2.

Unlike most flowers, milkweed does not produce loose pollen, but waxy, sticky balls of pollen called pollinia. Each milkweed blossom has a small slit leading down a chamber to the pollinia. When insects land on the droopy milkweed flowers, clinging to the petals as they feed on nectar, a foot can slip into the slit and come in contact with pollinia. When an insect pulls its foot out of the slit, it brings the pollinium with it. Should that same foot slip into another milkweed flower’s slit, the pollen can be transferred, facilitating fertilization.

Milkweed plants typically produce a lot of nectar. The nectar replenishes overnight, gratifying nocturnal moths. The remaining nectar is ready for the first diurnal visitors in the morning.

To access nectar, floral visitors prop themselves on one of the five flower hoods, sliding their tongues down the side of the hood where the nectar is held. They must be careful not to slip their leg down into the flower between the slits. Sometimes insects get stuck in a slit and are never able to free themselves. Some insects are not robust enough to remove their legs from the anther slits with the attached pollinia and are trapped to die there if they don’t lose their appendage first. Other times, they must tear off their own limbs to escape. Even if an insect does manage to pry its leg out of the trap door, some insects are unable to remove the pollinia.

One or two pollinia will slow an insect down, but too many can make it difficult to move. Despite the potential harm of visiting a milkweed flower, for many insects, this is a reliable source of nectar that is worth the risk.

Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.