Bees, Soldier Beetles, Cats and Butterflies - Oh My!

Carpenter bee on reblooming Vitex agnus-castus (chaste tree)

Can you spot the Very Fuzzy Caterpillar?

How about now? It's a milkweed tussock moth (a.k.a. milkweed tiger moth) on a swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

Two milkweed tussock caterpillars also seem happy to feed on a different species of milkweed - Asclepias viridis (green antelopehorn)

Soldier beetle on false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides)

Butterflies like to feed on false sunflower too!

They also feed on blanket flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora)

Soldiers on the Agastache!

These soldiers (OK, soldier beetles) like to make love, not war. Often, you'll see one (female?) beetle crawling around while another (male?) beetle hangs on its back (presumably) trying to mate.

The last couple of years, the soldier beetles did their loving on the 'Lemon Queen' sunflower, but when that plant suddenly and unexpectedly crashed this past spring (and was subsequently shovel-pruned), they moved on to other plants this year - primarily agastache (like this Agastache foeniculum), but also Sedum 'Autumn Joy'. When they are not getting it on,  I believe soldier beetles generally serve as important beneficial insects in the garden.