I Meant to Do My Work Today

by

Richard Le Gallienne (1866-1947)

I meant to do my work today—
   But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
   And all the leaves were calling me.

And the wind went sighing over the land,
   Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand—
   So what could I do but laugh and go?
 

As to the Purple Coneflowers, to my surprise, a large creature caught my attention. He was pushing the bumblebee off the bloom! I had not seen this Wheel Bug before in the garden. He is a beneficial insect and a true bug.

Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus) on Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) pushing Bumblebee off Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus) on Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

The Wheel Bug is easily 1 1/2 " long and one not to provoke. His bite is worse than a hornet's, as I later learned. I left him to his work. He gets his name from the wheel-shaped, toothed prominence on his back. 

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Wheel Bug (Arilus cristatus) on Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

The bumblebee found plenty of other radiant blossoms to nectar on.

Bumblebee on Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

And, so did this Peck's Skipper (Polites peckius), an uncommon butterfly. I added him to our Butterfly list.

Peck's Skipper on Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)