_
 |
| fritillary on butterfly weed |
The butterflies are out now that the rains have passed.
 |
| on the phlox |
The vetch that is swallowing up the back garden is abuzz with bumble bees.
The boys refuse to pull it.
 |
| A pretty hairstreak suns on a potato leaf |
Red-spotted purples and red admirals are fluttering through.
The brown-eyed susans are full of little bees, flies and wasps.
 |
| Is this tiny fly fooling anyone with his hymenopteran disguise? |
There are thousands of flies in North America -
hundreds of species of green long-legged flies, little metallic predators.
 |
| A bronze colored long-legged fly |
Members of two distinct species are patrolling adjacent milkweed plants.
 |
| A long-legged fly munching on a midge |
For a hundred million years
(according to the amber)
they have been plying their hunting grounds.
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