TRR photo by Ed Wesely The large size of this web-spinning spider, called a black-and-yellow argiope, identifies it as a female. Ribbed patterns on each side of the abdomen, which appear white in the photo, are bright yellow in nature.

Mid-summer visitors. In August it’s common to find this week’s subjects in gardens and rural yards.

Argiope spiders always wait head downward at the center of circular webs they suspend from silken frames. They have poor vision and depend on vibrations within the web to locate prey.

The red-spotted purple butterfly, exhausted, tattered and bleached by the sun, refused to sip nectar from the flower where I placed it after removing it from the barn. I’d forgotten that its diet is principally animal droppings and fermented fruit.

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It’s better to wear a pair of slippers than to try to carpet the whole world

When I call a help line these days, India is invariably on the other end of the receiver.

Americans have lost jobs to unlawful immigrants. The vanloads of Latino workers I see heading towards developments are rumored to be illegal.

But hey, all of our ancestors were once foreigners.

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Free programs look at birds, bugs and invasive plants

RIVER VALLEY—The National Park Service will present three free educational programs focusing on the insects, birds and invasive plants in the Upper Delaware Valley on Saturday, August 7 and Sunday, August 8. The programs will be offered at various public access areas along the Delaware.

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Also in this issue:

• A literary, ecological paddle