Yellow Jacket
I went out hoping to get a better butterfly picture today. I got a few but they aren’t enough better than yesterday’s picture to justify putting them here. So, here’s a picture of a yellow jacket on a garlic mustard flower.
Tagged With: Hymenoptera
Yellow Jacket
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bee, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insects, Wasp, Yellow, Yellow Jacket
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Honey Bee on Wild Onion
Honey Bee on Wild Onion
I’ll end the first six months of Project 365 with a honey bee (Apis mellifera), busily visiting the flowers on a wild onion in the empty lot next to my office.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Apis, Apis mellifera, Bee, Honey Bee, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insects, Onion
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Potter Wasp
Potter Wasp
There were lots of insects enjoying Cathy’s mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) today, including this potter wasp. I’ve narrowed it down to the genus Euodynerus of which there are 19 local species. Beyond that, I need better pictures and different views.
There is a good key to the genus here: http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/ejournal/bmc_05/key_euodynerus.html. I also found a good Hymenoptera glossary here: http://www.diapriid.org/projects/32/public/ontology/.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bee, Euodynerus, Hymenoptera, Potter Wasp, Wasp
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Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica)
Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica)
Cathy called me around the south end of the house late this afternoon to take pictures of this male carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) on the buddleia growing there. Carpenter bees are nice to photograph because they don’t mind you getting fairly close to them. Also, the males like this one, identified by the white or pale yellow patch on their face, don’t sting and in fact are unable to do so. I don’t find many bees to be particularly aggressive, though, and I know some people are quite afraid of them. For me, as long as I move slowly and carefully, I’ve never had a problem. I’m not particularly allergic, either, which is important.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bee, Carpenter Bee, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insects, Xylocopa, Xylocopa virginica
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Monarch and Bumblebee
Monarch and Bumblebee
I know I posted a photo of a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) recently but I sort of like this photo of a monarch sharing a coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) with an eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens), so here you are. This was taken in the same garden as the former and like that one it was in the afternoon when the shade of the building was on it, so it isn’t as well lit as I would like.
I walked around the small pond next to my building and saw lots of raccoon footprints in the fresh mud. I took some pictures of those and also of some skippers, a cabbage white (Pieris rapae) and a pearl crescent (Phyciodes tharos).
Categories: Miscellaneous
Tags: Bee, Bombus, Bombus impatiens, Bumblebee, Butterflies, Butterfly, Danaus, Danaus plexippus, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insects, Lepidoptera, Monarch, Polinators
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Ant
Ant
I took some pictures of flowers and plants in the back yard this evening. I had gotten down onto the ground to see if I could get a good picture of a syrphid fly on an allium flower. I got a few pictures but they weren’t as sharp as I would have liked. Then I noticed this ant on another allium and got a handful of pictures of it. They aren’t all that sharp, either, but will have to do, because I didn’t really get anything better. I’m pretty happy with the framing of this picture and the exposure, but the focus isn’t that great. In my defense, this little fellow was moving around quite a bit and the light was starting to wane a little.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Aculeata, Ant, Formicidae, Formicoidea, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Insects, Macro
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Eastern Bumble Bee
Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens)
I went out looking for pictures as usual this afternoon, when I got home from work. There is Campanula in bloom in the yard, and I took some pictures of those flowers. They don’t tend to come out the same color in photographs as they are in real life. Not entirely sure why. Then I moved over to the gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides), which is a real attraction to the bees. It’s quite invasive and I really would recommend against planting it in the strongest language, but if you already have it, you might as well enjoy the bees. There were a few honey bees but mostly it was the common eastern bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) that were moving quickly from flower to flower.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bee, Bombus, Bombus impatiens, Bumble Bee, Common Eastern Bumble Bee, Eastern Bumble Bee, Gooseneck Loosestrife, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Insects, Loosestrife, Lysimachia, Lysimachia clethroides
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Megachile mendica (Flat-tailed Leaf-cutter Bee)
Megachile mendica (Flat-tailed Leaf-cutter Bee)
I have yet another “insect on a black-eyed Susan” photo today. These are by far the most numerous flowers in our yard this time of year. They aren’t necessarily the insects’ favorite flower but most pollinators are fairly broad minded and visit lots of different plants. The Buddleia bushes are the clear favorites with the butterflies and the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) is probably the most popular with the bees and wasps, but they all visit the black-eyed Susans, as well.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bee, Flat-tailed Leaf-Cutter Bee, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Leaf-cutter Bee, Megachile, Megachile mendica
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Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
We had another day at Shady Grove Hospital today but before I went I took a few pictures in the back yard. There was a monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) on the butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and I had hoped to get a picture of that. I would have, except I had taken the memory card out of the camera and when I put it back in the write protection switch had been pushed into the off position and the camera would not take a picture. By the time I got it reset the butterfly was gone. I was able to get this photo of a western honey bee (Apis mellifera), instead.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Apis, Apis mellifera, Bee, Honey Bee, Hymenoptera, Western Honey Bee
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Dolichovespula maculata (Bald-faced Hornet)
Dolichovespula maculata (Bald-faced Hornet)
The pollinators are quite busy in the yard these days. Especially in the afternoon, when the sun is hammering down on the flowers, the bees, wasps, moths, and butterflies are to be seen in great numbers. The mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) is literally a buzz with them. The skippers seem to favor the black-eyed Susans. The butterflies, not surprisingly, go for the butterfly bush (Buddleia). That being said, this large hornet was coming back again and again to the buddleia. I’m not as happy with it as I might be but it’s a decent photo. These wasps are social and build large paper enclosed nests. I’m a little surprised to only see one of them, but there are surely more around the area.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bald-faced Hornet, Dolichovespula, Dolichovespula maculata, Hornet, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Vespidae
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Sphex nudus (Katydid Wasp)
Sphex nudus (Katydid Wasp)
The bees and wasps are out in force these days. I spent a little time around the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) this afternoon and enjoyed the variety of buzzing insects (most of them are basically silent, actually). The most numerous are the bumble bees (Bombus impatiens) and the large but gentle carpenter bees (Xylocopa virginica). The wasps are pretty well represented, though, and today I saw a handful of these katydid wasps (Sphex nudus) as well as some potter wasps (Eumenes fraternus). I got a few photos of that last one, but they weren’t as good as I would have liked. I’ll keep trying.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Black, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Katydid Wasp, Sphex, Sphex nudus, Wasp
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Eumenes fraternus (Potter Wasp)
Eumenes fraternus (Potter Wasp)
This potter wasp (Eumenes fraternus) is one of my favorite wasps (doesn’t everyone have favorite wasps?). There’s fairly common around here. While they are particularly drawn to the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum), they are also found regularly on the black-eyed Susans (Rudbekia) and painter’s palette (a.k.a. knotweed, Persicaria virginiana). I think it’s their clean lines that I like. They’re difficult to photograph well and I’m not really happy with this photo, although it’s the best I was able to get. They don’t really stop moving and unless the light is very strong, it’s hard to get both adequate depth of field and a short enough exposure to stop their motion.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Black and White, Eumenes, Eumenes fraternus, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Potter Wasp, Vespidae, Wasp
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Paper Wasp
Paper Wasp
There are a few paper wasps that are very difficult to distinguish and some that are impossible without examining them at the microscopic level. A number of them are quite variable, as well, adding to the difficulty. I think this is a northern paper wasp (Polistes fuscatus) but I’m nowhere near sure. It’s a beautiful creature, whatever it is. This was taken with my 100mm lens with the addition of a 25mm extension tube in bright evening sunlight. As you can see, I was able to get fairly close and I’m pleased by how sharp this turned out. You might also notice the aphids on the underside of the leaf the wasp is on. I took some photos of those, as well, but haven’t identified them yet (beyond the generic “aphid”).
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Macro, Paper Wasp, Polistes, Vespidae, Wasp
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Bombus impatiens (Common Eastern Bumble Bee)
Bombus impatiens (Common Eastern Bumble Bee)
Who doesn’t love the humble bumble bee? They are everywhere and like many of us, they are not particularly flashy or flamboyant. Nevertheless, they busily go about their business. I like them quite a bit and enjoy watching them move from flower to flower. In this case, a common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) is on wingstem, also known as yellow ironweed (Verbesina alternifolia). There were also honey bees (Apis mellifera) and ailanthus webworm moths (Atteva aurea) on the same group of flowers. It had become quite hot again, with temperatures in the low 90s, and I’m starting to look forward to autumn.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bee, Bombus, Bombus impatiens, Bumble Bee, Common Eastern Bumble Bee, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta
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Carpenter Ant (Camponotus castaneus)
Carpenter Ant (Camponotus castaneus)
I came across this carpenter ant (Camponotus castaneus) in the yard today. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get an identification on this ant. BugGuide.net says, about carpenter ants (Genus Camponotus), “This is one of the most species-rich ant genera, with perhaps 1000 species World-wide.” Nevertheless, it was identified. These are pests, of course, if they get into structures or valuable trees but they are fairly ubiquitous on almost the entire globe (only excluding the polar regions). They’re pretty things, like most insects, however.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Ant, Camponotus, Camponotus castaneus, Carpenter Ant, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta
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Insects
Danaus plexippus (Monarch) Caterpillar
Murgantia histrionica (Harlequin Bug)
Papilio polyxenes asterius (Black Swallowtail)
Euptoieta claudia (Variegated Fritillary)
Allograpta obliqua (Common Oblique Syrphid)
Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Spotted Cucumber Beetle)
I went on a short outing this afternoon to the Agricultural Farm Park today and spent a little time wandering around the Master Gardener’s display garden. Mostly I photographed insects (and a few flowers). It was a pretty productive outing as far as insect photos go.
- Danaus plexippus (Monarch) Caterpillar
- Murgantia histrionica (Harlequin Bug)
- Papilio polyxenes asterius (Black Swallowtail)
- Euptoieta claudia (Variegated Fritillary)
- Allograpta obliqua (Common Oblique Syrphid)
- Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Spotted Cucumber Beetle)
I’m particularly happy with the oblique syrphid fly, as that’s the first one I’ve photographed. The black swallowtail is one we don’t see nearly as often as the eastern tiger swallowtail. I’ve seen harlequin bugs on occasion but not all that often. The same is true of the cucumber beetle.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Allograpta, Allograpta obliqua, Beetle, Black Swallowtail, Butterflies, Butterfly, Caterpillar, Coleoptera, Common Oblique Syrphid, Cucumber Beetle, Danaus, Danaus plexippus, Diabrotica, Diabrotica undecimpunctata, Diptera, Euptoieta, Euptoieta claudia, Fly, Fritillary, Harlequin Bug, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Insects, Lepidoptera, Monarch, Murgantia, Murgantia histrionica, Oblique Syrphid, Papilio, Papilio polyxenes, Papilio polyxenes asterius, Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Stink Bug, Swallowtail, Syrphid, True Bugs, Variegated Fritillary
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Sweat Bee
Sweat Bee
I met Cathy outside for a little while early this afternoon. As we were walking back towards the entrance to my building we saw a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) near the parking lot and I was able to get a few nice photographs of her. Cathy went back to her office and I went down near the pond and took some photos of insects. There was a type of fly that I hadn’t seen before. I thought it was a thick-headed fly (Family Conopidae) but it was identified as a Dioprosopa clavata, a syrphid fly (Family Halictidae) that resembles a thick-headed fly. Today’s photo, however, is of this metalic green sweat bee, a female in the genus Augochlorella.
Categories: Miscellaneous
Tags: Augochlorella, Bee, Green, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Macro, Sweat Bee
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Western Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
Western Honey Bees (Apis mellifera)
We took a drive to Lewis Orchard to buy peaches today. It was very hot and being out in the sun with masks on was not really all that nice but we managed and bought enough to make a cobbler and have plenty left over to eat simply cut up with whipped cream. From there we stopped at our friends’ farm. The last time we were there Greg said I should stop to see the bees but we left the other direction so didn’t. This time we stopped and I got a few pictures of the honey bees (Apis mellifera). I also happened to get stung on my nasal septum, which wasn’t the most fun, but a honey bee sting is, thankfully, not that bad.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Apis, Apis mellifera, Bee, Beehives, Honey Bee, Hymenoptera, Western Honey Bees
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Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens)
Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens)
Pretty much all the flowers in our garden are attractive to insects. I suppose that makes sense, because that’s what flowers are supposed to do, in order to get the insects to (inadvertently) pollinate the flowers. It’s interesting to me, though, that some flowers are attractive to many different insects but some seem to attract a specific subset. Yesterday, I was looking at the Monarda (bee balm) and noticed that the large bees were almost exclusively carpenter bees (Xylocopa virginica). Today I was looking at the gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) shown here and the large bees were exclusively common eastern bumble bees (Bombus impatiens). Just interesting, that’s all.
On a mostly unrelated note, I really, really don’t recommend you plant any Lysimachia species in your garden. The bees love it, but there are other things they like that aren’t so overwhelming.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bees, Bumble Bee, Common Eastern Bumble Bee, Eastern Bumble Bee, Gooseneck Loosestrife, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Loosestrife
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Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
The mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) is starting to bloom. I won’t claim it’s a hive of activity yet, but there’s certainly a bit of a buzz. Mostly I’m seeing honey bees (Apis mellifera) on them so far, but the mountain mint is very attractive to a wide variety of insect life from small beetles and bugs to bees and wasps, and some butterflies. The buddleia next to this tends to get more butterflies, though. It loves the sun and the insects are out in the most fierce in the heat of the day. Not my favorite time to sit there with my camera but it’s sometimes worth the effort.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Apis, Apis mellifera, Bee, Honey Bee, Hymenoptera, Insect, Western Honey Bee
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Green-Sweat Bee
Green-Sweat Bee
I was out with my macro on a 25mm extension tube this evening and got a few decent photos of this green bee. I labeled it a cuckoo wasp at first, but now I’m thinking it’s a green-sweat bee (Tribe Augochlorini). But don’t hold me to that. If I get a better identification, I’ll update this post. For now, all I can say for sure is that it’s a bee (Anthophila). I can also say that it’s quite pretty. It was moving around quit a bit and this was the best I could do at ISO 800, f/8, 1/100 second.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Anthophila, Bee, Green, Green-Sweat Bee, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Sweat Bee
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Resin Bee on Coneflower
Resin Bee on Coneflower
I wasn’t happy with most of the pictures I took today, but this one isn’t too bad. I’m pretty sure this is a sculptured resin bee (Megachile sculpturalis), although there are a few other Megachile species it could be (e.g. the flat-tailed leaf-cutter bee, Megachile mendica, which is more common). Regardless, it’s a nice, quiet little bee and it was moving among the coneflowers, along with a few other solitary bees and an occasional honey bee (Apis mellifera). I know that some folks are not fond of bees and don’t like to have them around. With the exception of a few aggressive hornets and wasps, I like having them around. They really rarely sting unless provoked and they are quite pretty to watch on flowers.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bee, Coneflower, Echinacea, Echinacea purpurea, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Megachile, Megachile sculpturalis, Purple Coneflower, Resin Bee
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Sneezeweed (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’)
Sneezeweed (Helenium ‘Mardi Gras’)
Cathy bought a few perennials over the weekend and I planted this one yesterday. It’s a sneezeweed called ‘Mardi Gras’ and it’s really nice. The flowers have a similar look to black-eyed Susans but it’s a different genus (Helenium). I happened to catch it with a little, green-sweat bee on it, which is a bonus. It prefers somewhat barren ground and isn’t supposed to do well in heavy clay, which is probably why I haven’t seen it around here. That’s really all we have. But hopefully it will survive, even if it doesn’t thrive too well.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Anthophila, Bee, Green, Green-Sweat Bee, Hardy Perennial, Helenium, Herbaceous Perennial, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Mardi Gras, Sneezeweed, Sweat Bee
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Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus
Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus
This is a sand wasp, Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus I believe. It’s fairly common although nothing like the western honey bee or the bumble or carpenter bee, but I see them quite a bit on the mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum), as this one is. If I go out in the heat of the day, with the sun beating down on the mountain mint, it’s an absolute hive of activity (and I mean that in the most literal sense). There are myriad bees and wasps buzzing around with an occasional skipper sneaking in. The buddleia above has mostly bumble and carpenter bees as well as butterflies. Now and then I spot a true bug of one sort or another. It’s really wonderful, unless of course you are allergic or simply afraid of stinging things. It’s also very hot so I don’t generally stay out too long, but I love it.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Bicyrtes, Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Sand Wasp, Wasp
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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.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bee, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Megachile, Megachile sculpturalis, Resin Bee, Sculptured Resin Bee, Verbena, Verbena bonariensis
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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.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Monobia, Monobia quadridens, Vespidae, Wasp
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Pollinator
Pollinator on Helenium
This little bee is absolutely loaded with pollen. (Side question: if pollen is spelled with an ‘e’, why does pollinator have an ‘i’ in its place?) Anyway, Cathy and I went to Meadowside Nature Center this afternoon and walked around a pond and through the woods. In addition to this little bee, I got a pretty good photo of a common whitetail (Plathemis lydia), a fairly common dragonfly. But I thought I’d go with the bright yellow of this photo instead. I’m also partial to bees, of course.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bee, Bloom, Helenium, Hymenoptera, Insect, Pollinator, Wsp, Yellow
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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).
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Paper Wasp, Polistes, Wasp
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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.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Apis, Apis mellifera, Aster, Bee, Honey Bee, Hymenoptera, Insect, Insecta, Western Honey Bee
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Scolia dubia dubia (Two-spotted Scoliid Wasp)
Scolia dubia dubia (Two-spotted Scoliid Wasp)
From McKee-Beshers we went to Rocklands Farm. We were greeted by Janis who took us to her garden and gave us tomatoes and eggplants. I photographed these two-spotted scoliid wasps (Scolia dubia dubia) on the Eryngium in her garden. There were probably a dozen of them on the small plant with a lot of movement. There were a few other wasps but most were this very distinctive subspecies of blue-winged wasp. We bought burgers and Brussels sprout from the Boxcar Burgers truck and a bottle of wine from Rocklands and enjoyed a warm but beautiful evening sitting by the barn. A nice way to spend a summer evening.
Categories: Creatures
Tags: Blue-winged Wasp, Eryngium, Hymenoptera, Scolia, Scolia dubia, Scolia dubia dubia, Two-spotted Scoliid Wasp, Wasp
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Busy As A…
Bumble Bee Leaving a Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonne’
Cathy and I went to Stadler Nursery late this morning. I bought a ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) called ‘Fireside’. It has very dark leaves which are a really lovely red early in the year and darken until they are nearly black in the late summer and fall. As usual I also took some flower photos. Getting an insect on the wing is not something I’ve had much success doing but this one turned out pretty well. It’s a common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) leaving a Rudbeckia ‘Herbstonne’ flower. We have a lot of Rudbeckia in our yard but most of it is one variety that is quite invasive. I wouldn’t mind thinning that out and replacing some with different types and this one is pretty nice.
Categories: Creatures, Flowers and Plants
Tags: Bee, Bumble Bee, Common Eastern Bumble Bee, Hymenoptera, Rudbeckia, Yellow
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