Aug. 13, 2008 - Outdoor Hour Challenge #22 - Insects (Bees)
Today, we started to get "caught up" with our study of insects. This will be our Focus Area for the next 8 weeks or so. We are rather late with it because we had thought we had to look just for butterflies during the first week, etc. It was only when it was made clear to us that the Focus was actually just on "Insects" that we realised we could have been doing more of the challenges than we actually had been!
We went into our back garden and started our "Bug Hunt" by staying out there for the next 30 minutes. At the bottom end of our garden, we came across lots of buzzing bees - they were flying from one blossom to the next and making a terrific sound. I tried taking photographs of the bees in flight and on the blossoms, but only one was clear enough to add to our blog.
Can you see the bee? It is hiding behind one of the leaves of the shrub it was particularly fond of!
Another insect was also very keen on this shrub - we're not too sure what the insect is called (not one of our best skills) - but we think it is some sort of hoverfly? Anyone who does know what it might be, please do let us know!!
We were also rather flummoxed as to what sort of shrub it was that was attracting all these insects - any suggestions?
Littlesmurf suggested that it may have been a "white tomato plant", but I somehow doubt that he was right!
We then moved to the other, damper end of the garden to see if there were any insects lurking there. There weren't, but we did come across a fantastic collection of snails hiding under some small logs that had been cut earlier in the year!
Littlesmurf was fascinated by the different sizes and colours of the snails - quite a variety! We couldn't be sure whether they were all the same type of snail, but different ages or whether they were just all different species of snail.
A plant that always does well at this end of the garden is this one - it likes being in damp, shaded areas; this part of the garden gives it the ideal conditions!
Comments
Aug. 13, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Arby
You take excellent pictures for your blog. I enjoy reading your blog. I love looking at the pictures!
Aug. 13, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Arby
A hit! A Palpable hit! Ouch!
Aug. 13, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by homeschoolshelter
All the kids thought the different colored snails were great. We only have one type of snail here. Interesting to watch but not as aesthetically pleasing. :-)
Aug. 19, 2008 - Love the snail shells!
Posted by Anonymous
What a great nature study....so many interesting things to observe and think about.
My favorite photo is of the different snails...ours are really boring compared to those.
Thanks for the link,
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
