The Garden in June

The rest of my columbine flowers have begun to bloom, as has the Arrowwood Viburnum shrub in my backyard. Once again this shrub has become infested with aphids, and no matter how often I blast them off with a hard spray of water, they keep coming back. I am reluctant to use chemicals to rid the shrub of these pests, given that a number of other insects visit the flowers for pollen.

One insect in particular interested me. It was small, and I thought it was a winged ant at first. When I took a closer look, I recognized the body shape and the clear wings outlined in black. It looked a little like the Virginia Creeper Borer moth I had found at Hurdman two years ago, and I knew I had discovered a clearwing moth!