There have been some cool insects around lately....I really need to get my hands on a field guide in order to figure out what they are, but until then, here are some photos.
These grasshoppers have been all over the place. From trying to ID grasshoppers last time I remembered wing color was really important, and these have pale greenish-yellow wings. That should help me narrow it down.
These grasshoppers have been all over the place. From trying to ID grasshoppers last time I remembered wing color was really important, and these have pale greenish-yellow wings. That should help me narrow it down.
I also saw these two very different sized grasshoppers together. Since female insects are usually larger than males, I have a pretty good idea what these two were up to:
The blossoms on blackberry bushes have been attracting many different species of bees and wasps. This was a kind I hadn't ever noticed before, that looks almost more white and black than yellow and black:
I'm a bit of an arachnophobe but my naturalist curiosity won out over my fear of spiders when I found this one climbing on the tower at Mt. Constitution. It's one of the biggest local spiders I've ever seen, maybe about three inches long including the legs:
I like the black and white wasp/bee Monika, you can keep the spider though!
ReplyDeleteThe wasp looks like it is one of the sand wasps, Bembix sp., as shown in Kaufman's Insects of North America. They usually nest in dunes or beaches. Females prey on flies and practice "progressive provisioning", feeding and developing larvae as needed, much as adult birds do for their chicks.
ReplyDeleteWarren - No thanks, I was happy to leave the spider right where it was!
ReplyDeleteThe K - Thanks for that. Makes sense since it was in a sandy dune area.