Daily Archives: April 5, 2012

Syrphid Fly and Plant Bug

Syrphid Fly - Toxomerus marginatus

Syrphid Fly (Toxomerus marginatus)

I went out into the empty lot next to my office again today. What a beautiful day it was, too. It’s not like summer yet but there was a fair amount of insect activity. I sought out some weeds that are flowering (yellow rocket, Barbarea vulgaris, also variously known as Bittercress, Herb Barbara, Rocketcress, Yellow Rocketcress, Winter Rocket, and Wound Rocket — which is why I like to stick to Latin binomials). After a little waiting, I was rewarded by the appearance on some nearby Shepherd’s-purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) of a syrphid fly. He (or she, I have no idea) moved to the yellow rocket and I got a few more pictures, including this one. I identified it, with the help of BugGuide, as Toxomerus marginatus.

Tarnished Plant Bug - Lygus lineolaris

Tarnished Plant Bug? (Lygus lineolaris)

Then I noticed another insect, some sort of plant bug (family Miridae) I think, on the next plant to my right. My guess is that this is Lygus lineolaris, the tarnished plant bug, but I’m waiting for confirmation (or correction). There are a lot of bugs that look similar to this.

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