u/CitrullineMalate2to1

I occasionally see these black dots on my milkweed. Are they eggs? Some kind of other byproduct from an insect? I always pull them off but I don’t even know what they are

Zone 7b NJ. Another 100 in various stages. Strong season for them here in NJ.

Momma Swallowtail not only egg bombed the intended host plants, but clearly there was some friendly fire! I wonder if this will successfully hatch/harm the existing caterpillar?

Zone 7B NJ. Dudes been hanging around my backyard the last few months. Pretty cool!

I have ~5 Spicebush shrubs on my property, and I had planted this one last year. Was growing well right up until a storm knocked over our enormous planter directly on to it. The 2 branches look to snapped completely off, and the one branch that recovered looks to have lost a good chunk since the other branch was attached to it at the base.

I know Spicebush is resilient, but what should I do here? I will probably wait out and see if the one attached branch is good, but at the same time am I better off just cutting them down equally 6 inches from the ground and patiently letting it grow back?

Visiting Florence and bought a cool piece of art for my favorite bird the Swallow for 40 euros. I don’t care about the value, really just looking for any information on it as I don’t really have much to go off of and the store owner only spoke Italian. Any idea?

I’m in New Jersey, zone 7b.

So I planted two Elderberry bushes this spring-one in my mulch and one directly in the ground. They are only about 20 feet from each other and receive similar water and sun. The one in the mulch looks amazing, very healthy and green. The other is the one pictured- I have never grown Elderberry before so any help is appreciated. Sun scorching? A nutrient deficiency? Mites? I can’t tell. Thank you!

Found this at an antiques store for $45. Electronics worked and I like the unique vintage look to it, I believe it’s a Teisco Melody/JB-4. No idea how to correctly age it since there’s no serial number that I can tell. Only thing I really want to fix is getting the correct pick guard for it but I don’t see much on the internet with it being an uncommon guitar. Any further insight on it would be amazing!

Found it while planting. NJ zone 7b. Figured it was a cicada but I have never seen the longer tube on it