Portly, slow and trashy are only complimentary to a spider crab. Spider crabs, also called portly crabs, need little introduction.

It's late summer and I am finally getting into the spirit. My inspiration is a bumper crop of wild cherries.

Dr. H.C.F. Meyer was a true believer. His passion was purple -- purple coneflower -- and it would be correct to say that he was the first commercial coneflower prophet.

“Patience is the greatest of all virtues.”

Though Cato the Elder figured this out around 200 BC, it is likely that crab spiders could have told him even earlier. They know that good things come to those who wait.

These brilliant beetles are easy to spot and hard to forget.

Spots are the way to identify the six-spotted green tiger beetle, but don’t take the name too literally. The beautiful beetles defy the confines of their given name.

For instance, don’t waste time counting spots for an identity confirmation. The six-spotted green tiger beetle can have as few as zero or as many as 10 white spots on their hard, outer wings.