Inspired by the Outdoor Hour Challenge September newsletter and the beautiful milkweed growing in our yard, we conducted our first nature study of the new school year a few days ago. Our milkweed is getting a lot of action right now!
DG using her new camera to record information
Some type of insect we have yet to identify. I'm wondering if it is some sort of bee. We are going to try to study the differences between bees and other insects that mimic bees.
Taking flight
What looks to be a carpenter bee----I'm hoping the nest is far from the house! (Photo by DG)
And although this little guy (some type of green bee) was enjoying coreopsis instead of milkweed, he was nearby so we wanted to share this picture too:
You can see the pollen he's loading up!
Milkweed bug (Photo by DG)
We broke off a small section of the milkweed so we could see the "milk", but it was so small that none of our pictures turned out well.
Pictures taken the day before:
The first monarch spotted this year
DG's notebook page (Thank you, Barb!)
Her drawing looks great! We have a half day of school today so I may go out and look for that milkweed. :)
Posted by: Christine | September 16, 2011 at 08:51 AM
What beautiful milkweed! I love that you were able to study and enjoy something right in your own yard as part of this study. So many insects...great job capturing some with the camera. I think your daughter's notebook page is very well done. Thank you so much for sharing your link with the OHC.
Posted by: Barb-Harmony Art Mom | September 21, 2011 at 06:47 AM
Thanks, Christine!
Thanks, Barb! Thank you for all you do for others through the OHC and your blog!
Posted by: Kim | September 27, 2011 at 11:00 AM
The bees really do end up side down when getting pollen from milkweed. Thanks for the beautiful pictures of the flowers :)
Posted by: Zonnah | September 30, 2011 at 02:49 PM
All the pictures are great, and that green bee is especially cool. Nice camera and journal work!
Your milkweed looks a little different from the common milkweed around here. Ours has pink blooms.
Posted by: Janet | September 30, 2011 at 08:50 PM
Thanks for sharing the milkweed photos - we didn't find any near us (with or without flowers). It wasn't until another homeschooler blessed us with milkweed pods that we could study milkweed. Nice to see your daughter using her camera. My daughter loves photography - especially nature photos.
Posted by: Ellen | September 30, 2011 at 09:33 PM