wasps

Out walking today I noticed there is a large number of different wasps. There was also a large number of cicada emergence holes, which is right for this time of year. With the night time temperatures getting above 60 degrees consistently, many more critters are coming out. Also, others are changing their behaviors; such as staying out all night, instead of just the evening.

    A big problem with getting pictures of wasps is that they are not only fast moving and erratic, but they are complicated. The velvet ants I have been seeing (some are really big) look like ants but are wasps. There are parasite wasps that prey on caterpillars, those are small. There are cicada killers, they are big and orange. The yellowjackets are out, as are the paper wasps ( those are yellow and medium). Of course, so far, there are no "murder hornets". The heat has brought out the bees as well. There are many domestic bees, but look closer. There are many native bees that don't swarm. They forage in the cactus and willow flowers, many look just like flies, (they also don't sting)

Of course, the weather has been great for the plants as well. As most of them start feeling the heat, they are using Solar energy to prep their seeds. It seems like every plant has a different seed dispersal strategy. Some use wind, others use...dog fur.

cat tails will soon be releasing their fluff into the wind.

    Those burrs can be a real painI haven't identified these guys yet, but they are a type of burr that get into everything, especially in long dog fur. I hear from vets that they are having a very bad year with "Fox tails" - A type of grass seed.

    Many people are familiar with the Miller moths were just finished a season explosion of. Others might find they pupae in the tree leaves. I wonder how many have seen the little babies climbing up the sides of houses? Their strategy for predator evasion, apart from the sleeping bag of silk, is to throw themselves off the perch when a questing ant gets close. They dangle from thread, but eventually have to release and climb back up to where the leaves they eat are. Many spend all day climbing and dropping off the sides of my house.

This adult is left over from last year and may not be alive. many are eaten by baby wasps that lay eggs inside the caterpillar's flesh...

This is from Red river, but shows many different caterpillars also use silk as more than just building cocoons.

Here is a tiny miller moth as a encapsulated caterpillar. They stick bits of leaves on them as camouflage.

Finally, I still get dazzled by the hidden world and colors of the common flies I see everyday. They are different

critters when they are seen up close. This is the same picture of a fungus gnat from the side with flash and from above. With some enhancement, you can see the beatiful rainbows on it's back. The abdomen is also weirdly fluorescent in the LED flash