October is all but behind us, and the falling leaves tell of the upcoming colder weather on the way. However it is also the tail end of Indian Summer, when mild days bring out some late-season insect life and even some last-minute reptiles and amphibians. 

I spent an afternoon in mid-October staking out my friend’s flower garden and the surrounding lawn and field; I spotted a variety of pollinators and a fair amount of other insects on a sunny afternoon that saw high temperatures in the high 70s.

The images for this week’s column are a small sample of some pollinators taking advantage of late-blooming flowers in the garden and surrounding areas.