Late Sunday morning in early September.  I walk along our unpaved road next to the Snake River.  The sun is hot, grasshoppers whir and click, bees drone and American goldfinches call to each other in the aspen grove.  Small stands of native sunflowers (Helianthus tuberosus L.) dot the roadside.  In a single group of three plants, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, I spot four species of native bees, two species of wasps, several ladybird beetles, a goldenrod soldier beetle and a northern crescent butterfly.  Here’s a sampling:

Metallic green bee on a native sunflower known as Jerusalem artichoke.

Ladybird beetle on a native sunflower (Helianthus tuberosus L.).

Goldenrod soldier beetles are important pollinators of native sunflowers, goldenrod and tansy.

A crescent butterfly, most likely a northern crescent, sips nectar.