Tagged With: Insecta

Megachile sculpturalis (Sculptured Resin Bee)

Photograph taken on Sunday, August 09, 2020 by Henry
Megachile sculpturalis (Sculptured Resin Bee)

Megachile sculpturalis (Sculptured Resin Bee)

I’m pretty sure this is a sculptured resin bee (Megachile sculpturalis), a fairly common, solitary bee in the Megachilidae family (the leafcutter, mason, and resin bees, and allies). We see them on a variety of flowers in our yard. This one is on the Verbena bonariensis (tall verbena or Brazilian vervain) and that seems to be a favorite for these bees. Like most bees, they are not at all agresive and much more likely to fly away from you than bother you in any way. I think they’re quite pretty, with their furry thorax and sculptured abdomen.

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Scudderia Nymph

Photograph taken on Saturday, August 15, 2020 by Henry
Scudderia Nymph

Scudderia Nymph

I noticed this bright green katydid nymph on the canna lily this morning. It is one of the Scudderia species. It let me get pretty close, as you can see and it actually stayed there for a few days and ate a good amount of the petals on this flower. Generally I’m not a fan of flower-eating insects but this one was pretty enough and eating slowly enough that I let it be. I like the green against the orange of the petals and even though it’s a small thing, I could see it clearly from our kitchen door, which was nice.

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Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 by Henry
Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus)

I’m pretty sure this is a spicebush swallowtail (Papilio troilus). There are three dark swallowtails that we see somewhat regularly. Most of them are dark form females of the eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). This is, in my experience, the second most common. Then there are the black swallowtails (Papilio polyxenes). They all look pretty similar and they all have a bit of variation in their coloration. Since I’m really not an expert, I could be wrong about this one. I’ll just leave it at that. It’s a pretty butterfly, in any case, and is enjoying the blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica ) in our front garden.

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Monobia quadridens (Four-toothed Mason Wasp)

Photograph taken on Thursday, August 20, 2020 by Henry
Monobia quadridens (Four-toothed Mason Wasp)

Monobia quadridens (Four-toothed Mason Wasp)

The mountain mint is really buzzing these days. The height of summer is really great for seeing bees and wasps and I really enjoy seeing them in the afternoon. The sun beating down it a bit much so I can only take it for short stretches but it’s worth it to see the variety of stinging things buzzing around. This is, I believe, a four-toothed mason wasp (Monobia quadridens). The larvae feed on leaf-rolling caterpillars so are generally considered good to have around. Their sting is something you want to avoid but like most hornets and wasps, if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone.

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Xanthotype Species

Photograph taken on Saturday, August 29, 2020 by Henry
Xanthotype Moth

Xanthotype Moth

We went to Northern Virginia this evening to have dinner with our good friend, Jean. While we were there, eating in her car port, there was a huge downpour followed by a rainbow. It was actually really nice to be sitting outside but under cover during that. Then, I happened to spot this moth, which landed on the gate to the back yard. It’s a moth in the genus Xanthotype. There are five species in our area but, according to BugGuide, “adults of all species in this genus are, for practical purposes, externally indistinguishable from one another” so we’ll just leave it at that.

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Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Goldenrod Soldier Beetle)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 01, 2020 by Henry
Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Goldenrod Soldier Beetle)

Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (Goldenrod Soldier Beetle)

This goldenrod soldier beetle, (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) is well camouflaged against the petals of the black-eyed Susan in our back yard. Often when looking for insects, it’s a matter of looking for motion, because they blend in so well with the background. I spotted this on after taking a few photos of a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), also on the black-eyed Susans. They are starting to fade, but there will still be plenty of color for a while yet. One interesting thing about this beetle is that the species epithet, pensylvanicus, is the correct spelling and the version with a double n (i.e. pennsylvanicus) is incorrect.

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Limenitis arthemis astyanax (Red-spotted Purple)

Photograph taken on Monday, September 07, 2020 by Henry
Limenitis arthemis astyanax (Red-spotted Purple)

Limenitis arthemis astyanax (Red-spotted Purple)

We took an outing today to Rocklands Farm and Winery and had a lovely visit with Janis. She and Anna took us to see Anna’s flowers and then we circled back around behind the winery. The grape must that had spilled on the ground outside the work area had attracted quite a few butterflies, including this red-spotted purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax). To me, it looks more like an orange-spotted blue, but what do I know. Their colors are a bit variable, anyway. Nevertheless, this is a pretty distinctive butterfly and always a treat to see.

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Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Spotted Cucumber Beetle)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 08, 2020 by Henry
Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Spotted Cucumber Beetle)

Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Spotted Cucumber Beetle)

I was down on the ground taking some photos of a skipper on some blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) when I noticed this spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) just to my right. I got a handful of photos of it before it flew away and I actually got a fairly good one of it just taking off. I think this is a better picture, overall, though, so I thought I’d use it. This is a destructive insect and really I should have squashed it, but it flew away before I had the chance. They do significant damage to many field crops “including cucumbers and other squashes, corn, soy.”

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Monarch Caterpillar

Photograph taken on Friday, September 11, 2020 by Henry
Monarch Caterpillar (Danaus plexippus)

Monarch Caterpillar (Danaus plexippus)

We have some white swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata ‘Ice Ballet’) in a frequently wet part of the lawn. It bloomed for a nice, ling time this summer and as it gets more established I expect it to do even better. Yesterday Cathy noticed a caterpillar on it and I took some photos. I took a few more today. This is a monarch caterpillar (Danaus plexippus). Although I generally don’t encourage insects that eat the leaves on our plants, I make an exception for these little guys. We really enjoy the monarchs in our yard and so we put up with the feeding habits of their young.

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Paper Wasp (Polistes Sp.)

Photograph taken on Saturday, September 12, 2020 by Henry
Paper Wasp (Polistes Sp.)

Paper Wasp (Polistes Sp.)

I’m not at all sure what this wasp is but I’m going to guess it’s a Polistes species, possibly P. fuscatus, the northern paper wasp. I like this head-on shot, although I’d like to have a bit more depth of field. The wasps and bees were thick in the mountain mint and buddleia this afternoon. Autumn is arriving, though, and it’s been cooler, so the insects are not quite so nemerous except in the heat of mid-day. I also got a few pictures of a beewolf (Philanthus gibbosus).

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Monarch Wing

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 by Henry
Monarch Wing

Monarch Wing

Underneath one of the buddleias in our back garden I found the remains of a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). Just last Friday I had photos of a monarch caterpillar (see Friday, September 11). This is the other end of the life cycle, the death of an adult butterfly. Monarchs are quite widespread, being found throughout much of North and South America (and apparently have been introduced in Australia). The color on the wings of a butterfly are made up of very small scales. In the full size version of this image, they are visible, especially in the orange areas.

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Honey Bee on Aster

Photograph taken on Saturday, September 19, 2020 by Henry
Honey Bee on Aster

Honey Bee on Aster

Cathy and I took a walk along Croyden Creek early this afternoon. It has turned cool, although with the humidity in the woods and the steep nature of the trail, I was fairly warm. It was nice to get out, of course, and we only saw a few other people. We walked from the Croyden Creek Nature Center down stream almost to where it joins Rock Creek. Coming back, we turned up a side valley and came out between the two main parts of Rockville Cemetery. Back and the nature center, I took this photo of a western honey bee (Apis mellifera) on an aster of some sort.

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Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady)

Photograph taken on Sunday, September 20, 2020 by Henry
Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady)

Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady)

I’ve posted photos of painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui) before, but not this year. Each of the others show the underside of the wings, which are often folded up when the butterfly is on a flower. I spent quite a while following this one around and managed to get a pretty good shot of the upper wing surface. It’s a pretty, mid-sized butterfly that’s found in five of the seven continents (all but South America and Antarctica). This is the first I’ve seen this year, so I was excited to be able to get some good pictures.

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Harmonia axyridis (Asian Lady Beetle)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, September 22, 2020 by Henry
Harmonia axyridis (Asian Lady Beetle)

Harmonia axyridis (Asian Lady Beetle)

I went out this morning to bring the recycle bins back from the curb and happened to notice this little Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) on the hood of my car. So, it’s not a terribly natural setting and I’ve have loved to be able to photograph it on a flower or something, but I’m keeping it real and telling it like it is (or was). These are quite common in our area and can be found pretty much throughout the United States and southern Canada. They are native to eastern Asia from the Altai Mountains to the east coast and Japan. Their spot pattern and colors are extremely variable, including the black spots on an orange base, as seen here, but also black on red, red, orange, or yellow on black, and even solid with no spots.

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Vanessa atalanta (Red Admiral)

Photograph taken on Monday, September 28, 2020 by Henry
Vanessa atalanta (Red Admiral)

Vanessa atalanta (Red Admiral)

This is the first red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) I’ve seen in the yard this year. It’s wings are pretty ragged but it was fluttering around well enough. We’re seeing fewer butterflies lately, now that it’s cooled off so much, but once in a while we get a treat like this. This one is resting on a rose trellis on the end of our house that used to have a huge, climbing rose on it. That rose died to the ground a while back but it’s finally starting to get up onto the trellis again. Hopefully in a few more years it will be back to its former glory.

The red admiral is cousin to the painted lady (Vanessa cardui) whose picture I posted just over a week ago.

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Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, September 30, 2020 by Henry
Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

Cathy noticed this praying mantis outside our kitchen door this afternoon. When I first went out, it was facing away from me and then moved into the evening primroses off the side of the patio. Rather than leaving it with that, I picked it up and moved it back onto the steps. From there it moved onto the wall, and that’s where my best pictures of it were taken. This is an import, a Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis), which were introduced from China in 1896 to combat pests. It out competes many of the native preying mantises, which are sadly in decline.

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Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, October 06, 2020 by Henry
Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

The late afternoon sun was shining on the hawthorn berries and I took some pictures of them before spotting this monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) flitting around the tall verbena (Verbena bonariensis). She flew off for a while but I waited and she came back and I was able to get some pretty nice photos. I figured I can get pictures of the hawthorn again tomorrow. The butterflies are getting to be fewer and fewer, so I want to capture them while I can. We’ve had a pretty steady presence of monarchs this summer, although rarely more than one at a time. This one is in particularly fine shape.

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Junonia coenia (Common Buckeye)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, October 07, 2020 by Henry
Junonia coenia (Common Buckeye)

Junonia coenia (Common Buckeye)

Just a few days ago I mentioned that we were seeing fewer butterflies in the garden. Then I saw and photographed a painted lady (Vanessa cardui), a red admiral (Vanessa atalanta), a monarch (Danaus plexippus), and today a common buckeye (Junonia coenia), all within just over two weeks. So, the summer is going out strong in terms of butterflies. The common buckeye is not particularly rare here, but we haven’t seen a lot of them this year. It’s a pretty butterfly and quite distinctively marked. Like the recently photographed painted lady and monarch, this one is on the Verbena bonariensis.

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Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 17, 2020 by Henry
Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantis)

I don’t know if this is the same Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) I photographed at the end of September (see Wednesday, September 30, 2020) but I wouldn’t be surprised. Cathy noticed it on the outside of the kitchen window and I took a few photos of it through the glass. Then she suggested I take it across the street to show our neighbor’s kids, who were quite interested in seeing it. They especially enjoyed when it crawled up my arm and onto the back of my head. I put it on the ground and took a few more photos of it, including this one.

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Cicada on Blue-eyed Grass

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 15, 2021 by Henry
Cicada on Blue-eyed Grass

Cicada on Blue-eyed Grass

The cicadas (Magicicada species) of Brood X are beginning to emerge from their 17-year subterranean sojourn. Interestingly, this one, near the base of a large oak tree, is one of only a few at this site. Another oak tree at the other end of the yard is absolutely covered with them. I suspect I’ll have a few more photos before their visit comes to an end but I thought for at least one photo I’d include some flowers to brighten what is otherwise a sort of ugly bug. Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) is something of a weed around our yard, but it’s at least a pretty weed.

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