Meeting for a Drink

Common buckeye butterfly and wasp cross paths while collecting nectar from white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) my favorite native conservation biological control plant. It blooms in the fall for a month and brings in an incredible number of beneficial insects.

A most inspiring banner.......here's to the eventual coming of Spring, and a better year!
A bright, cheerful and eye-catching photo. 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉 Happy New Year!!

That is one beautiful banner!

Beautiful banner!

Lovely banner, Moggs. The background yellow flower looks nice with the NGA logo background. Plus, I love butterflies!

I looked up snakeroot. I may try it in a drier, confined area ---said it can be aggressive under ideal conditions (moist soils).

Perfect banner Moggs!

gorgeous banner, Moggs!

Both beautiful and informative. I see snakeroot up here, and I used to see buckeye butterflies in fair quantity, but it's been several years since I've seen one Do dragonflies hang out around your snakeroot, hunting all those juicy insects?

First, thank you all for the nice comments and the acorns! White snakeroot is not for everyone. It is a native plant, but it is also the infamous plant that supposedly killed Lincoln's mother from milk poisoning. It should not be grown where dairy cows or goats graze.
arctangent, Elizabeth, it is interesting that you mention dragonflies. I've been wondering about mine. I have a natural pond that is spring fed and has dragonflies, but I never see them venture past the pond. I've documented 6 species of dragonflies and 1 damselfly, but only at the pond. The garden where I took the banner picture is 50 to 75 feet away, surely they can fly that far, but maybe it's the wrong season? Most of my dragonfly pictures are in May and June, and white snakeroot is a fall bloomer. Are the dragonflies still out and I just tired of taking their picture?

What a delightfully delicate banner. Very nice.

Moggs,
One of the reasons I asked specifically about dragonflies is that I live near an arboretum with a small prairie restoration. In the fall, when goldenrod and asters (and snakeroot) are in bloom, and attracting insects, I frequently see dragonflies there. They're different species than I see around ponds. Something to "pond"er 😉