Creatures

Eumenes fraternus (Potter Wasps)

This is becoming one of my favorite wasps. I’m not sure why, but it is. I think I like the simplicity, along with the distinctiveness of the markings. It’s also such a fragile little thing. I say little, but it’s not all that tiny, measuring a good 15 to 20 mm in length. I suspect it’s also got a sting that I don’t want to experience.

Now that the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) is starting to bloom in earnest, it’s starting to attract the usual suspects. So far, in addition to bumble bees and this potter wasp, I’ve seen a one four-toothed mason wasp (Monobia quadridens) and a few great black wasps (Sphex pensylvanicus).

On a somewhat irrelevant note, the Latin name for this genus of wasp always reminds me of the third play in the Oresteia, by Aeschylus, called The Eumenides. The Eumenides are “The Kindly Ones.” That’s irrelevant, however, as the genus in this case is a different, although similar word. They are apparently named for a Greek general and scholar, Eumenes of Cardia (ca. 362 BC—316 BC).

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus, female)

With the reliability of summer following spring, the tiger swallowtails have returned just as the buddleia (butterfly bush) started to bloom. There are flowers open on two bushes so far with a promise of many more to come. We’ve had the little cabbage whites for a while now but today was the first day I’ve seen a swallowtail in our yard. This is a female. The males don’t have the band of blue spots on their hind wings. Getting a picture that is “just right” is hard. they move about a bit, but this one, with the wings lit from the other side, is pretty good, although the colors in the wing are a bit washed out.

Genus Condylostylus

While I was out picking raspberries I saw a spider web with an orchard orbweaver spider (Leucauge venusta). I took a few pictures but it was too dim and I didn’t have my tripod so I wasn’t able to get enough depth of field to make the image worth sharing. I also saw this little fellow (or lady, I really don’t know). The leaf it was on was moving in the slight breeze and of course there’s that “hand-held” thing, so most of the pictures were out of focus or blurred. This one, I think, is pretty good. Fortunately it was in a small ray of sunshine giving me enough light for a reasonably short exposure. It is one of the flies in the genus Condylostylus but many of them look quite similar, so I don’t know which one.

Golden Three-spot Gourami (Trichopodus trichopterus)

In addition to the pictures I took of Cathy and Dorothy (see prior post), I took a few pictures of our fish. We recently acquired a few new fish from one of Dorothy’s friends, whose family is moving to Colorado. This is a golden gourami, which is one of the common color morphs of the three-spot gourami, Trichopodus trichopterus, native to southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, and Malaysia. This is a pretty good size specimen and has adapted well to our tank, along with a large angel fish, some neon tetras, and a pretty good sized plecostomus.

Anomala orientalis (Oriental Beetle)

I was trying to photograph a particularly small bee this afternoon and not having a lot of success. First, it was only about 5mm long. Second, it kept hiding behind bits of the flower it was on. Third, it kept turning so all I could get was pictures head-on.

Anyway, I happened to notice this little beetle (about 10mm long) on a leaf and decided it would be an easier subject. It is an oriental beetle, Anomala orientalis, and is considered to be a pest. The larvae feed on grass roots, so they aren’t something you want to encourage. I do think the –winged— antennae are cool. The scientific term for that form is flabellate, meaning fan-shaped.

Chrysidinae (Cuckoo Wasp)

This is, I’m pretty sure, a cuckoo wasp (family Chrysididae) in the subfamily Chrysidinae. All of the species in that sub-family have metalic green, blue, or in once case red exoskeleton. They are easy to spot but not always easy to photograph, this is pretty good but I’m still hoping for something sharper. They are not very big, only about a centimeter long, and my lens doesn’t focus any closer than a foot. Maybe it’s time I invested in a set of extension tubes. Of course, they little things don’t stop moving, either, which is a significant issue. The yellow in this picture is pollen from the yarrow (Achillea millefolium) on which the wasp is perched.

Bird In The Grass

When I picked Dorothy up from her friend’s house this evening, I got out of the car to chat for a bit before we left. As we were talking I noticed this bird in the grass of the front yard. I’m not sure what sort of bird it is and to be honest, I didn’t pay that close attention. I did get my camera and took a few pictures of it, though. Poor thing probably came out of a next in the tree overhead. It must have been there for some little while, as it was nestled down into the grass quite comfortably. Still, I don’t give too much for its chances. A bird that cannot fly is easy prey for a neighborhood cat.

Genus Lucilia

The mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) is just starting to bloom and there was a wasp or a fly or two flitting about. This is some species of blow fly (Family Calliphoridae) and I think it’s in the genus Lucilia. Most people don’t like flies much and I suppose they have good reason.

Still, many of them are beneficial in one way or another, even if that way happens to be helping recently dead things get broken down into a less offensive form. Blow flies are scavengers and lay their eggs in carrion, which sounds nasty but it’s better than having smelly carcases lying around for days.

On the other hand, blow flies are also one of the main families of flies causing myiasis in livestock and occasionally in humans. If you think laying eggs in carrion is gross, you don’t want to know what myiasis is.

Trichopoda pennipes (Feather-legged Fly)

I went out again today, hoping to get a better picture of a snipe file like the one I bagged yesterday. I did see both snipe and syrphid flies and got some pictures but nothing significantly better than yesterday’s. This is a feather-legged fly, Trichopoda pennipes and I’m pretty happy with the picture.

This is another friendly insect and they are actually used in the control of stink and squash bugs. Considering how many stink bugs we have had the last few years, this is someone I’m very happy to have around.

Snipe Fly

I took some pictures of rabbits in our yard this evening after work. They are plentiful, fat, and happy. I’m tempted to do something about them. Our neighbors on both sides have dogs so our yard is something of a safe haven for them.

I also took some pictures of the onions growing in my vegetable garden. I didn’t actually plant any vegetables this spring but there are onions that came up from seed last year, which are getting quite large now.

Finally, I took some pictures of this little fellow (or lady). There was a little swarm of them but I only had a chance to get a photograph of this one, when it landed for a moment. I’m pretty sure it is one of the many snipe flies (there are about 700 species worldwide). My first guess is that it is either Rhagio hirtus or Chrysopilus tomentosus. This photo was hand held, so not as sharp as I’d like. I’ll try to hunt this little creature again, and with a tripod.

As flies go, these are our friends. Few of them bite and they are all predaceous on a variety of other small insects.

Small Bee

I’m not sure what sort of bee this is. They seem to be fairly common. It’s hard to tell scale from this picture but the bee is not more than 10mm long and possibly a little less than that. It moved from flower to flower fairly quickly so it was a fair job keeping up with it but I managed to get a few that are probably good enough for someone who knows these things to identify it. If I get a name, I’ll update the post.

Update: The good folks at BugGuide.net have identified this as being in the genus Ceratina, the small carpenter bees.

Great Blue Heron

Cathy and I went for a walk this afternoon and as I was waiting for her I noticed there was a great blue heron in the pond between our buildings. I took a few pictures of it standing in the water but knew that as soon as I tried to get any closer it would take off. So, instead of trying to get closer, I got ready for its take off and asked Cathy to walk a little towards the water. I’m often unhappy with pictures i get of herons taking off, usually because I don’t get them at the right moment. This one turned out pretty well.

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

After our busy Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the Olney Theatre (and longer than that for the cast and crew of the play), it was nice to have an afternoon at home. When I got home from church I changed into my gardening clothes and planted two apple trees. The first is ‘Arkansas Black’, a dark red apple that is a late maturing variety. The second, which matures even later than ‘Arkansas Black’, is called ‘Goldrush’, a golden apple with a red blush.

As I was working on the deer protection for Goldrush, a brown-headed cowbird came to the bird bath not eight feet away from me. I stood quietly and watched until it flew up into a tree. Then I went and got my camera. When I came back out the bird wasn’t quite so bold as before but did perch in a nearby dogwood tree, close enough that I got a few good pictures.

Little Spider

I know it looks sort of big in this picture but that’s only because I was pretty close to it. This spider is only about a half to three quarters of a centimeter long. I had been working in the yard and took a break to photograph some flowers (I may post one of those later on). I had set my camera on the glass table on the patio and when I came back to pick it up, this little spider was nearby. I was able to get a few good pictures from the front and behind (as it turned to run away) so I’m hoping I’ll be able to get an identification before too long. I think it may be some sort of jumping spider (Family Salticidae) but I’m really not too sure. I’ll update the post if I get it figured out (or more precisely, if I find someone who can figure it out for me).

Large Ant

When I got home today I noticed this ant on the flagstone walk leading to my front door. It was quite cool out and he was moving pretty slowly on the cold stone. I got my bean bag and took a few photos. I’m not going to pretend to know which of an estimated 22,000 species this is. I imaging with a little work I could narrow it down to under 1,000 but for now, I’ve simply identified it as a drone (male) ant, e.g., a member of the Formicidae family.

Update: I posted two pictures of the ant on BugGuide.net (here and here) and James Trager identified it as being Camponotus castaneus, also known as the reddish carpenter ant.

Geese Taking Flight

As I came down and crossed Lake Needwood this morning I saw that there was a large flock of geese on the near end. I pulled over and got my camera out to take a few pictures. Of course, the geese moved away from me as I walked down to the water’s edge. I ran the last fifteen yards or so to startle them and managed to get them to take off all at once. It’s not as good a picture as I’d like but I do like it, anyway.