Lopidea
I’m not sure which one but I’m fairly certain that this is one of the 50+ Lopidea species, possibly L. media. It’s posing for me on an unopened stock flower. No more than 3/8 inch long (not counting the antennae).
Tagged With: Hemiptera
Bumble Bee on Sunflower
Bumble Bee on Sunflower
We were out at Rocklands Farm to pick up our weekly share of produce and I enjoyed photographing crops. There are sunflowers growing in various places, mostly not yet fully in bloom. These, however, were beautiful. They are only about foot and a half tall but four or five inches across. The bumble bees (and many others) really seem to be happy about them. (Bombus griseocollis)
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bee, Bombus, Bombus griseocollis, Bumble Bee, Bumblebee, Hemiptera, Rocklands, Rocklands Farm, Sunflower
Comments Off on Bumble Bee on Sunflower
Alydus eurinus (Broad-headed Bug)
Alydus eurinus (Broad-headed Bug)
It was a gloriously beautiful day today and I had a little time for lunch so I went out into the empty lot next to my building and lay on my back in a patch of dry grass. The sky was a beautiful blue. The sun was warm but the air was cool, so it was perfectly comfortable. While I was sitting, this little bug flew up and landed on a blade of grass right in front of me. I was able to get a handful of pictures, although they are not as sharp as I’d like. I had to take it from a slightly awkward sitting position. When I tried to lie down to get a better position, I scared it off.
Northern Flatid Planthopper (Flatormenis proxima)
Northern Flatid Planthopper (Flatormenis proxima)
I took a few pictures of butterfly weed flowers this evening and I might have posted one of them. A little later I noticed this white leafhopper and got a few pictures of it, including this reasonably sharp image. Getting a good picture was made more difficult by the breeze, which was moving the stem the planthopper was on, but this one turned out pretty well. It was sharp enough for it to be identified as a northern flatid planthopper (Flatormenis proxima), one of our more common planthoppers. They do little damage and I left him alone to get what he needed from this plant.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bugs, Flatormenis, Flatormenis proxima, Hemiptera, Insect, Insects, Macro, Northern Flatid Planthopper, Planthopper, True Bugs, White
Comments Off on Northern Flatid Planthopper (Flatormenis proxima)
Oncopeltus fasciatus (Large Milkweed Bug)
Oncopeltus fasciatus (Large Milkweed Bug)
It’s milkweed bug time in the garden. Cathy and I are both big fans of pretty much any species of Asclepias. This one is Asclepias curassavica, often known as scarlet milkweed. It’s growing in a container on our back patio and it really attracts the insects. I had a photo of a Monarch (Danaus plexippus) on it recently and today’s photo is of the aptly named large milkweed bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus). We also have a good colony of oleander aphids (Aphis nerii) and I may publish a photo of those, unless we get around to taking care of them before I do that. Like many insects that feed on milkweed, these bugs accumulate toxins from the plants which can “potentially sicken any predators foolish enough to ignore the bright colors which warn of their toxicity.” (bugguide.net)
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bugs, Hemiptera, Insect, Insecta, Large Milkweed Bug, Milkweed Bug, Oncopeltus, Oncopeltus fasciatus, True Bugs
Comments Off on Oncopeltus fasciatus (Large Milkweed Bug)
Aphids and Lady Beetle Larva
Oleander Aphids (Aphis nerii ) and Lady Beetle Larva
I mentioned the aphids on the Asclepias curassavica (scarlet milkweed) when I posted the photo of the large milkweed bug a few days ago. Here’s a picture of the aphids. It was fairly dark when I took this (7:45 in the evening) and I used a flash to light them, which allowed me to get reasonable depth of field. I used a flashlight give me enough light to focus, with the camera on a tripod (which I definitely should use more often). As I was taking the pictures, I realized the aphids were not alone. There is a larva of a lady beetle of some sort (probably an Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis), feeding on the aphids. Unfortunately, there are too many aphids for this lone predator, and I’m going to need to take care of them myself.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Aphids, Aphis, Aphis nerii, Coccinellidae, Hemiptera, Insect, Insecta, Lady Beetle, Larva, Oleander Aphids, Yellow
Comments Off on Aphids and Lady Beetle Larva
Cosmopepla lintneriana (Twice-stabbed Stink Bug)
Cosmopepla lintneriana (Twice-stabbed Stink Bug)
I was out photographing flowers this evening. The light was fading and I didn’t think I could realistically get any photos of bees, wasps, or other flying insects. I was down on the ground to get some pictures of obedient plant, Physostegia virginiana, and I happened to notice this little fellow. I went in and got my flash, so I could get pictures that were worth something and I’m pretty happy with the results. This little bug (a true bug in the Heteroptera suborder) is only two or three millimeters long and if I hadn’t been down on the ground and very close, I never would have seen it. It is a twice-stabbed stink bug, Cosmopepla lintneriana. This one happens to be a nymph (an immature) and when adult will be mostly black with two red patches (the two “stab” marks of its common name).
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bug, Cosmopepla, Cosmopepla lintneriana, Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Insect, Insecta, Macro, Stink Bug, Tiny Bug, Twice-stabbed Stink Bug
Comments Off on Cosmopepla lintneriana (Twice-stabbed Stink Bug)
Stink Bug
Stink Bug
I happened to look out my window this afternoon and saw this stink bug on the outside of the glass. Actually, it’s not unusual to see them inside the building. My guess is that this is a brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) but I’m not entirely sure and I’m not going to bother looking harder at it. The banded antennae are distinctive, along with the mottled color, but again, that’s just a guess and it’s good enough for me. I also took some pictures this evening of a hardy begonia that’s growing outside our front door. Those are probably prettier than this, being pink and yellow instead of tan (and buggy). But they weren’t as good as I’d like and I can always try to get better pictures, when the light is a bit stronger.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Bug, Halyomorpha, Hemiptera, Insect, Insecta, Stink Bug
Comments Off on Stink Bug
Plant Bug on Feverfew
Plant Bug on Feverfew
I was taking pictures of the feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) growing in the back of our garden when I happened to notice this little plant bug. I don’t know what type it is and I’m not sure the photos I got are good enough for more than a general identification, so I’ll just leave it as a plant bug (Family Miridae). We’re in the in-between phase when there are fewer things in bloom. The flush of spring ephemerals is well past and most of them have already lost their leaves for the summer. The roses have finished their first flush but those that repeat will be with us off an on all summer. The Asiatic lilies and a few smaller things are the only sources of blooms right now. I’m not complaining, mind you, just saying.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bug, Feverfew, Hemiptera, Miridae, Plant Bug, Tanacetum, Tanacetum parthenium, True Bugs
Comments Off on Plant Bug on Feverfew
Oncometopia orbona (Broad-headed Sharpshooter)
Oncometopia orbona (Broad-headed Sharpshooter)
I took some photos of flowers today as well as a few of tiger swallowtails. But then I saw this little insect. It’s a leafhopper and they aren’t very big. I got two decent photos of it, one with the head and eyes in focus (this one) and the other with the body in focus but the head blurred. Nevertheless, it was enough to let it be identified as a Broad-headed Sharpshooter (Oncometopia orbona). There are four species of Oncometopia in the U.S.A. but this is the only one that’s known to be present here, so I’m pretty sure that’s right. It’s a pretty little critter.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Broad-headed Sharpshooter, Cicadellidae, Hemiptera, Insect, Insecta, Leafhopper, Oncometopia, Oncometopia orbona
Comments Off on Oncometopia orbona (Broad-headed Sharpshooter)
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.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Blue-eyed Grass, Bramble Thorns, Brood X, Cicada, Hemiptera, Insecta, Magicicada, Periodical Cicada, Sisyrinchium, Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Comments Off on Cicada on Blue-eyed Grass
The Cicadas Emerge
Cicada
The cicadas are coming, the cicadas are coming. There are two, large red oak trees in our front yard, both on the county right of way and planted when the neighborhood was built at the end of the 1960s. One of them has less than a dozen cicadas on it, the other has hundreds. This is on the second and is one of a few cicadas currently exiting their exoskeleton and transitioning to adulthood. They’re kind of creepy at this stage, all white and maggot-like. Of course, they’re nymphs for 17 years, and they are king of creepy that whole time, so I guess that’s not so surprising.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Brood X, Cicada, Exoskeleton, Hemiptera, Insecta, Magicicada, Periodical Cicada
Comments Off on The Cicadas Emerge
Cicada Exoskeleton
Cicada Exoskeleton
We went for a walk in the park late this afternoon. We went to see if the cicada noise was louder there and were surprised to find that there were parts of the woods where we could barely hear them. Other parts were about the same as in our yard. There was plenty of evidence of cicadas throughout the woods, with the tell-tall holes in the ground where they emerged and their shed exoskeletons on leaves, branches, and trunks. I like this one, back lit by the late afternoon sun.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Brood X, Cicada, Exoskeleton, Hemiptera, Insecta, Magicicada, Periodical Cicada
Comments Off on Cicada Exoskeleton
Cicada
Cicada
This was taken on June 3, almost two weeks ago as I’m posting it. That was just about the peak of the so-called Brood X cicada swarm. It really was quite noisy. In the past I would sometimes go outside if I was on the phone. Not only is reception better, but I can avoid the parrot noise that sometimes interrupts phone calls. But with the cicadas, it really wasn’t practical. It’s interesting how variable it is throughout the neighborhood and the woods. Some places you’d expect it to be bad seem to have very few. They are pretty thick right around us, though.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Brood X, Cicada, Exoskeleton, Hemiptera, Insecta, Magicicada, Periodical Cicada
Comments Off on Cicada
Arilus cristatus (Wheel Bug)
Arilus cristatus (Wheel Bug)
I happened to notice this insect on my car this morning. I’d an immature wheel bug (Arilus cristatus) and I’ve always found them to be kind of cool. The adult wheel bug has a cog-like projection on its back, which is where it gets its common name. The wheel bug preys on caterpillars, aphids, bees, sawflies, etc. so they’re actually good to have around. They do bite, if mishandled (or sometimes just handled) and their bite can be quite painful. So, I’d avoid messing with them, if you have the choice. Just leave them alone and let them eat what they eat.