One leucistic fledgling appeared among the nest mates.
I find same bee in end of August in same place, same flower almost every year.
japanese name: ルリモンハナバチ.
may parasite to Amegilla florea florea(スジボソコシブトハナバチ).
Found on American Sycamore (182127709).
Originally seen 3 days prior (182127713), still holding onto the remnants of its spider host. Revisited 2 days ago (182127718); then it was spinning its cocoon and I could still see the larva moving inside. One day ago (182278132) I could still see some movement, but it seemed more compressed and less active - possibly a pupa?
Now it seems still.
Emerged from mud nest on 8/10/2023
Best guess is a predatory wasp paralyzed and collected the caterpillar into its mud nest. The wasp egg wasn't viable for some reason and never hatched to eat the stored food. So the paralyzation wore off and the caterpillar just pupated in the wasp nest. Not sure how else a caterpillar would have ended up in a mud nest like that. Other explanations are welcome.
Carrying dried leaves to its burrow under some rocks
Bilateral gynandromorph, observed at a 400 watt mercury vapor light set up in a densely wooded area with Quercus spp.
D. maculata emerging from it's cell
ID tentative; improvement welcomed.
This was weird. The temperature had fallen and dusk was gathering when I noticed something waterskiing to shore. And another - and another! I assumed that some species with an aquatic juvenile form was molting into adults. But why do that in chilly weather at a colder time of day?!
It was hard to spot them where they stopped, and harder to get to them for photos because they remained in debris offshore. The low light didn't help, either.
I saw a lot of what appeared to be failed molts, but couldn't be certain that they weren't still working on it. Couldn't read the wing venation well, either - possibly because they are tenerals?
I filmed one coming in, slowed it down and made a GIF.
under 1cm, metallic aqua abdomen, metallic bronze thorax with light striping
Ants of SA p96. These ants look like quicksilver. Quite amazing to see.
A large infestation on Salix interior on banks of the Red Deer River. The infestation was highly localized to a small area. There were many willows growing along the river bank in many places but I only saw the beetles in this one spot. I collected a series for the Royal Alberta Museum under a research permit.
The last image shows the characteristic feeding damage. I also have a nearby observation of the host plant: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/139076833
Largest tree in CT
A pair of wrens were working on a nest somewhere in our eaves, often carrying bundles of moss nearly as big as themselves.
Ants harvesting sap on a tree cut after Hurricane Michael
Lam Tsuen Valley, Tai Po, Hong Kong
These solitary bees are thieves - they steal nectar from the base of the flower by stabbing through the nectary, rather than using the conventional method of collecting nectar (and getting a dusting of pollen), so are no good for pollinating flowers.
update (see comments)
"These bees also collect pollen, so they are important pollinators, in fact quite important because of their abundance"
Arethusana arethusa, Coenonympha pamphilus, Boloria dia, Lysandra coridon, Plebejus argyrognomon (aberration :))
Feeding on fox scat full of blackthorn berries. :)
Update: observations for each species are
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/129558373
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/129558454
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/129558537
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/129558585
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/129558618
On trembling aspen. The infestation in this area was so bad that nearly every leaf of every tree was infested.
Leucistic mockingbird fledglings?
Male (bifurcated antennae) Observed on, yes, purslane.
Calligrapha philadelphica (Dogwood Leaf Beetle). Photographed at Chutes Provincial Park, Sudbury District, Ontario on 21 June 2022.
04 Jun 2021.
Buckingham Springs, Bucks Co, PA.
12.7 mm wing length.
Quarter inch white balls, some puckered and loose, some slightly attached to soil
Video of The Incident™: https://imgur.com/a/JKSQLZE
(16 baby geese total!)
Male Blue-capped Cordonbleu. Photographed near Same, Tanzania on 3 November 2021. Monotypic.
Extremely odd behavior from a Watersnake and Ribbonsnake... has anyone else observed something similar to this before? Both healthy adults with no visible injuries and both escaped rather quickly under their own power without coaxing.
I originally walked up on this pair around noon but the ribbon snake took off before I could get a picture of the odd behavior so I immediately left and came back about three hours later to find them both in the exact same position. So it’s fair to assume it’s a reoccurring arrangement between the two of them. The minimal research I have done has turned up nothing but I would love to hear from someone more knowledgeable about this sort of thing!
Abundant on submerged rocks in spring branch (second photo). Squishy. Water is probably calcium and Mg-rich. Unsure if relevant, but lots of snails were present in the spring branch too.
Leucistic squirrel hanging out in the back today.
This moth had pupated on the underside of a Carya tomentosa leaf.
I always thought those warnings about not touching caterpillars with stinging hairs were exaggerated. I was SO wrong.
This observation is for the prey. Titmouse observation here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/70585426
Hybrid or just missing all the red pigment? (Growing with orange and pale that looked normal)
Desmodium ciliare x paniculatum; both parents nearby:
D. ciliare: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/95645360
D. paniculatum: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/95593798