Three spiders!

The Argiope aurantia that I first found was still tucked in between the hibiscus and the rue with a repaired web and a bit of added camouflage.  The one I found last week outside my window by the canna was also in the same place as before.  A third Argiope appeared out of nowhere and built a web in the mountain mint. It most certainly was not there yesterday.  Its web was very effective as proved by four silk-wrapped captures, one of which was a green bee, alas. Other bees and wasps continued to feed on the mountain mint all around the web but I did not see any actually touch it. One carpenter bee hovered in front of the web as though it was aware of the danger. 

Earlier in the day a very orange buckeye butterfly visited the butterfly milkweed and the mountain mint.  And I found a full grown hornworm on a ground cherry plant.  Black swallowtail caterpillars fed on the rue.  I did not see the monarch caterpillar, but the spider was in the way of a thorough look.  But, for the first time I found a camouflaged looper.  The tiny caterpillar fed on mountain mint close to the spider.  I only saw it because it was moving.  A frustrated black swallowtail didn't find parsley where it expected.

The hibiscus bloomed again.  A male amberwing perched on the rue, then on the mountain mint.  I found where a hummer perched to monitor the feeder.  Since it had chased off another, I knew it had to be lurking in a line-of-sight location.  Two molting Carolina wrens visited the feeders together again. 

The hornworm showing its stripes and horn.

The camouflaged looper with its front end emerging from the dead flowers stuck on its body.