Bombus impatiens (Common Eastern Bumble Bee)

When I see a big black bee with a blond, hairy thorax, I tend to call it a bumble bee whether that’s really what it is or not. There are plenty of bees of this general size and look, but I think this actually is a common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens). They are actually quite hard to photograph on my mountain mint because they don’t stop moving. Some bees actually stop for short while not and then but not these chaps. Busy as a bee applies to them. This is as good a photo as I was able to get but it’s a bit blurry. Sorry.

Two Piglets

We went out to Rocklands Farm today and, among other things, enjoyed seeing three very young piglets. They were with there mother eating acorns on a large oak tree that came down in the last few days. This picture shows two of them and you can see how small they are. Cute little things, destined to be turned into bacon, sausage, chops, and ribs. If that bothers you, then you probably don’t want to know what’s in my freezer now.

Nemoria bistriaria (Red-fringed Emerald)

Dorothy called me into the kitchen this evening saying there was something for me to photograph. On the sliding glass door from our kitchen into the back yard was this little moth. It’s only about 2 cm across. I got the tripod and put the flash on the camera and was able to get a pretty good shot or two. I also got some extreme close-up pictures that show the hairy scales on the wings, which are pretty cool.

I’m not 100% certain of the identification. There are more than 20 species and they all look fairly similar. Since identification photos tend to be from above (dorsal) and this photograph is from below (ventral) I’m at a disadvantage. Still, that looks right and we’re in the right part of the country for that species.

Archytas apicifer

In general I’m not a fan of flies. Some of them are quite pretty, I know and of course they have their part to play in the natural order of things. Still, it’s hard to think of the common house fly and similar critters as anything other than disease carrying vermin. Close up, I guess, they are beautiful in a sinister sort of way. This is actually a fairly distant cousin of the house fly (Musca domestica) which is in a different superfamily of the Calyptratae. Yes, I know, whatever.

Scolia dubia Blue-winged Wasp

I know everyone is going to be shocked when the learn that I took insect pictures today. Me and insects? Really? Well, I think this is one of the coolest wasps I’ve seen in a while. It’s wearing woolies on its tail end. It is a blue-winged wasp (Scolia dubia) and it’s a big one, over two centimeters long. Males have longer antennae and though I don’t have anything to compare them to, I’m guessing this is a female.

Trichopoda pennipes

After the heavy rain yesterday the weather has turned beautiful. It’s clear and cool and the humidity is much lower than it’s been. I went out twice to take pictures of the varied insects in the back yard and was able to work in the sun without being uncomfortable for the first time in months.

I was also rewarded with some new insect photos. First, there were two species of flies in the genus Trichopoda. The one shown here is Trichopoda pennipes and the other is Trichopoda plumipes, which has more black with a yellow pattern on its abdomen. The genus Trichopoda are known as the feather-legged flies because they have feather like brushes on their rear pair of legs. You can’t see them in this photograph but I got a few other views from behind where they show up quite nicely.

Condylostylus sp.

Back in June I posted a picture titled A Little Green Fly. At the time I identified that fly as Condylostylus sipho. The one pictured here may be the same species or it may be one of the other very similar species in the genus Condylostylus. Either way, it’s a pretty little thing.

P Brown commented that she wanted to write a poem to that one and on Facebook she did but I never got around to posting it here. So, in memory of that last little green fly and in honor of this new one, here is P Brown’s poem:

Ode To A Little Green Fly —
Have you come to snare the dancing honey bee,
You clothed in shimmering green among the Asclepias tuberosa?
Vascular threads forming a highway for thee,
And there long-legged on a leaf, you did pose.
Do I see you waving to a passing fly,
Displaying spindly legs, yet firmly built?
Perhaps to entice sipha for a brilliant mate,
Your short life to defy.
And now Henry has without any guilt,
Captured on facebook, your eternal fate.

Calycopis cecrops (Red-banded Hairstreak)

Next we have a fairly common butterfly but one I haven’t got a good picture of, as far as I know. It is the red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops). It didn’t fly off when I got close, as they often do, but it was not making itself easy to photograph. For the most part it would turn away from me so all I could see was the trailing edges of its wings. I finally got a few from the side that I was reasonably happy with.

Polistes fuscatus (Northern Paper Wasp)

Finally, we have a northern paper wasp (Polistes fuscatus). In general I wouldn’t consider these to be particularly friendly creatures but this one was pretty oblivious to my presence. I aimed the camera straight down on the tripod and got a pretty descent view of it from above. The light kept coming and going as the taller plants were blowing in the wind but otherwise, this one was easy to photograph.

I also got pictures of a yellow-collared scape moth (Cisseps fulvicollis), a wasp called Isodontia apicalis, and a few assorted and only tenuously identified flies. All in all, an enjoyable little time out back.