FUN FACT: Sunflowers are composite flowers, where all is not what it seems. What look like petals are actually infertile ray flowers that attract vital pollinator species to the plant. The center of the sunflower is made up of hundreds of small flowers, each with five petals, a male stamen and a female stigma, where pollination takes place.
Grasshopper.
Soybean pods.
Squash.
Wheel Bug, Arilus cristatus.
FUN FACT: One of a group of true bugs known as assassin bugs, in the ambush bug family, Reduviidae. They eat soft-bodied insects, stink bugs and, as we witnessed, bees. A wheel bug injects enzyme-laced saliva into its prey, which paralyzes the victim and liquefies their internal parts, which the wheel bug proceeds to consume. Yuck! Adding to their allure, they inflict a painful bite on humans.
They have their good side, though; many of their preferred prey are pests, so they are welcomed in gardens and on farms. And they just look cool.
This gourd looked just like a goose to me. I took him home and cleaned him up.
Behold – Gourdon Goose.
Left behind.
Looking back on a fun fall day on the farm.
