Growing With Science Blog

One great thing about living in Phoenix is that you can still see butterflies in November.

Who is this enjoying nectar from a lantana flower?

Why, it’s a skipper!

Don’t skippers hold their wings in an interesting way? The forewings are over the back like a butterfly, and hindwings are down like a moth. Maybe that is one reason people think they are butterflies that are closely related to moths.

The larvae often feed on grasses. Many build themselves shelters by tying the leaf blades together with silk, like this one.

Have you ever seen a skipper larva?

Today’s plant is very pungent.

Any ideas what might have these seeds?

Edit:  The answer is now posted.

The fall-blooming plant that produced the mystery seeds from last week is an aster, which can belong to the genus Aster or Symphyotrichum.

Many asters have purple or white flowers. The New England aster is a perennial favorite that grows along roadsides in the eastern part of North America.

Here’s another that grows in Arizona.

It has shorter ray flowers, or what are commonly called petals.

This one has fewer, longer ray flowers. There are many species and cultivated varieties of asters.

The seeds have tiny parachutes, similar to a dandelion.

Asters are an important source of nectar for honey bees in the fall in many areas of the country.

Do asters grow where you live?