From a few weeks ago.
I've photographed this bush since winter when only those galls were present. This shot was taken in early April. I just found out that the Blueberry Stem Gall Wasp, Hemadas
nubilipennis, is responsible for these galls.
Here's the same bush a week or so ago. It doesn't show the galls that well here but they're still there.
I found that little bit of blue most curious.
And here with most of the blossoms gone by, we can see the early development of the berries. I think as the berries plump up that the pointy edges will become that little crown on each berry.
Our own shore line here on the lake is rimmed with blueberry bushes; as we are further north, our white blossoms are still firmly attached and have not yet begun to drop off. They are a feast for the big fat buzzy bumbleybees and the bushes fairly vibrate with their energy. What always amazes me is the delightful delicate scent the blossoms give off esp. on a warmish evening (not last night, however- we were in the 30s!). Come late July when the berries are ripe, my evening dog walks consist of working our way around the yard, picking berries as we go- I pick at my height and my dog nibbles away below me. She loves blueberries... as do the birds who leave blue colored poop all over our dock!
ReplyDeleteRe; yesterday's fern post, the only thing harder than trying to get a correct ID on ferns is trying to ID mushrooms... my audubon guide has proven useful only as an expensive paperweight and my journals are filled with photos captioned "pretty mushrooms". I gave up long ago.
~gretchen
That is so cool--a blueberry-eating dog! :-) You two must be real pals. I read that sometimes the bees, in their impatience to acquire nectar, will bore through the side of the blossom. I only noticed one flower with what could have been a hole on the side but I didn't get off a photo.
ReplyDeleteI think I now have id'd three ferns and might have photos of two as yet unidentified species. This business really does take patience. But truly, it's all just so much fun! :-)