Sometimes I think the taxonomists that name species look for the most obscure character to use to coin a name.  The ring on the neck of a Ring-necked Duck is possibly the least visible plumage character on that species and the "rotundifolia" on this species (Campanula rotundifolia ) refers to a few basal leaves that often dry up and wither away before the plant flowers.  The Common Harebell at Leaning Oaks are escapees from a few plants put into the garden almost 20 years ago. The species persists, not only in the bed that it was originally planted, but also in the lawn, cracks in pavement and between the stones that edge parts of the garden.  Common Harebell is native to our part of the world, but for the most part, it is found at higher elevations than Leaning Oaks. 

The flowering season here seems varies a lot.  In most years the floral display lasts for a long time from June until August or September..this year however it was over in a flash, another casualty of an exceptionally hot, dry summer.
 
Hopefull next spring it will reappear.

"Hope is like a harebell trembling from its birth,
Love is like a rose the joy of all the earth,
Faith is like a lily lifted high and white."

                                                            Christina Georgina Rossitti.

Tonight's dinner entertainment was a life and death drama with the role of the protagonist being played by a Bald-faced Hornet.  She had been attracted to the wasp traps we had set out, which had managed to gather quite a crop of flies. The hornet spent quite a bit of the time trying to catch the flies she could see crawling on the inside of the plastic container.  As we watched she was joined by a second Bald-faced Hornet and there was an immediate fight, both of the rolling around on the deck until eventually one of them left.  A few minutes later a wasp arrived and the Bald-faced Hornet quickly jumped on it, there was another roll-around scuffle on the deck that resulted in the hornet flying off with the corpse of the wasp.   Later that evening I watched a Bald-faced Hornet walking around on the planter of Pitcher Plants, coming dangerously close to entering the pitcher, possibly attracted to the other insects already in the pitchers.

Dolichovespula maculata makes round paper nests,  that can contain up to 700 workers.   Active hunters they also feed on nectar. 

It is hard to believe that we had never seen this long-horn beetle at Leaning Oaks (or anywhere for that matter) until it came crashing into the sliding glass doors the other night. Mind you, the adults only live for 10-20 days and don't feed, their focus on finding a mate and then the female will lay up to 200 eggs. The rest of the life cycle can take three to five years, mainly in the larval stage.  Prionus californicus  larvae will burrow in the roots of deciduous or coniferous trees and can become a serious in orchards.  They will kill the host plant either by directly killing the root, or bacteria or fungal pathogens will attack the tree through the damaged roots. 

The Prionus Root Borer is found from Mexico to Alaska and emerges as in adult usually in July. The maggots or larvae can grow to 11.5 cm and are edible. No thanks.

The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui ) is likely the most numerous species of butterfly in the world, and one of the most widespread.  It inhabits both the new and old worlds, most of the northern hemisphere and some of the southern.  In North America it is a regular breeder in the deserts of the southwest and Mexico.  In some years there is a migration northward and millions of Painted Ladies are on the move.  Included in these are the ones that reach B.C. - usually in the early spring and looking quite ragged.  Here they breed, and their offspring emerge as butterflies in July, often larger than the migrants that were their parents.  

It is thought that these butterflies seldom are able to overwinter and do not migrate back southward,  so it is a dead-end for the population  and we rely on a new wave of immigrants for our next crop of Painted Ladies.  This is an early date for a 'fresh' Painted Lady for us, July 1 - no doubt the result of record high June temperatures on southern Vancouver Island this year.