Dwarf Snapdragon and Ironweed Curculio

"A low plant of waste places, especially along railroad tracks," says Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, and indeed these were growing next to the Canadian National tracks here in Ainsworth.


(Click on images to enlarge)

They were maybe 6" tall, with tiny blossoms. Hard to photograph such small things.

Here's a blossom with my thumb for scale:



More info and images here: https://midwestherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?tid=108768&taxauthid=1&clid=5211

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Here's a bonus Ironweed Curculio. It's not on Ironweed, it's on a sunflower in my back yard.



(Thumb for scale.)



(Ant for scale.)

It breeds in plants of the Aster family, including Ironweed. I did not know that Ironweed was in the Aster family until I started researching this bug.