Silene Vulgaris (Bladder Campion) 白玉草（シラタマソウ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Something was bothering me, so I couldn't enjoy a morning walk as much as I did. Then I found these bladder campion (Silene vulgaris) flowers. They flowered in early May, then disappeared and came back! I photographed them and without realizing it, I was smiling.

Bladder campion　白玉草

Silene vulgaris　シラタマソウ

False Parasol (Chlorophyllum Molybdites) オオシロカラカサタケ（大白唐傘茸）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

It was humid but not raining, so I left home to take a walk this morning. Then, it started to rain and I found these mushrooms. They're false parasol (Chlorophyllum molybdites) young fruit bodies. They're still young but big. Look at the 2nd photo of these mushrooms and my smartphone! They're beautiful (and look delicious) but they've poisoned many people...😱

False parasol　オオシロカラカサタケ

Chlorophyllum molybdites　大白唐傘茸

Sweet Autumn Clematis 仙人草（センニンソウ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora). The pure white flowers are so pretty but that's not it. The achenes are so pretty, too! I saw them last November. I'm already looking forward to seeing the achenes in autumn! 

Sweet autumn clematis　仙人草

 

Female Sponge Gourd Flower (Luffa Aegyptiaca) ヘチマの雌花

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I wrote about sponge gourds in early July, but the focus at that time was the fruits. The flower in the 1st photo is female. I can tell that because the flower center is not yellow but yellow green. The garden has many flowers (2nd photo), but I was able to find only one female flower. 

Female sponge gourd flower　ヘチマの雌

Horsefly アブ

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I was looking for London plane flowers when I noticed something landing on a grass stem. Then, I found it. So cute, isn't it? Luckily, it stayed where it was for a while, so I was able to take these photos.

 

Horsefly　アブ

Pumpkin Beetles Like Gourds, Too! 黒瓜葉虫はヘチマもお好き！

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

At the beginning of this month, I wrote about pumpkin beetles (Aulacophora nigripennis) on flowers of Trichosanthes kirilowii (Chinese cucumber) and today, I found the beetles on sponge gourd flowers. These pumpkin beetles are known to be harmful to gourds and cucumbers, but not that so compared to red pumpkin beetles (i.e., Aulacophora femoralis).

A pumpkin beetle on a sponge gourd flower　ヘチマの花の上の黒瓜葉虫

Coprinopsis Lagopus (Hare’s Foot Inkcap)? 粗柄一夜茸（ザラエノヒトヨタケ）？

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

It's less hot but still humid in Japan and that's why I found them. These are hare’s foot inkcap mushrooms (Coprinopsis lagopus) or so I think. Mushrooms usually attract me for their shape but hare’s foot inkcap mushrooms intrigue me with their color, i.e., translucency.

Hare’s foot inkcap　粗柄一夜茸

Coprinopsis lagopus　ザラエノヒトヨタケ

Ipomoea Coccinea (Red Morning Glory) 丸葉縷紅草（マルバルコウソウ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I thought they'd died. My neighborhood has been redeveloped, so the area where there are the flowers was completely dug up and has been surrounded by white fences. But amazingly or naturally, these red morning glories (Ipomoea Coccinea) have survived😂!  

Red morning glory　丸葉縷紅草

Ipomoea coccinea　マルバルコウソウ

Blue Passionflower (Passiflora Caerulea) 時計草（トケイソウ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The plant is supposed to flower in April and May, but it still has several flowers. They're blue passionflowers (Passiflora caerulea). Their Japanese name is "clock plant" after the appearance, which resembles a clock.  

Blue passionflower　時計草

Passiflora caerulea　トケイソウ

Japanese Wisteria (Wisteriopsis Japonica) 紫夏藤（ムラサキナツフジ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I noticed that they were not Japanese bush clover (Lespedeza) when about to delete these photos. They're Japanese wisteria (Wisteriopsis japonica) in the Hasedera temple, Nara. It was so hot that day that I was able to take a couple of photos of the flowers. The wisteria produces white flowers, too. 

Japanese wisteria　紫夏藤

Wisteriopsis japonica　ムラサキナツフジ

Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa) 熊蜂（クマバチ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is a carpenter bee (Xylocopa) having breakfast on sponge gourd flowers. I've been seeing the bee for the last couple of months and wanting to photograph them but they move from one flower to another so quickly that they flee before the camera focuses on them, so I decided to take @zaungruen method, i.e., focusing the camera on a flower and waiting for the subject to come and it worked😀!!!  

Carpenter bees are large, i.e., 2 to 3 cm, flying so quickly, so I assumed that they're aggressive but they're relatively gentle. I love the giant bees😄

Carpenter  bee　熊蜂

Carpenter bee　クマバチ