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Do you know your plants?
For my Leafminers of North America project, I periodically need help identifying hostplants I find in my travels. You can peruse photos of them at iNaturalist. Thanks!
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Tag Archives: bee
Spring Beauty Visitors
Narrow-leaved spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) is a rare species where I live, listed as Endangered by the Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program. So it was a treat to spend the past week in Ohio, where in some places … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Andrena, Andrena erigeniae, Andrenidae, ant, Atypidae, bee, Chironomidae, Claytonia, Claytonia virginica, Dialictus, Diptera, fly, Formica, Formica subsericea, Formicidae, Halictidae, Hymenoptera, Lasioglossum, midge, mining bee, Montiaceae, Orthocladiinae, pollinator, Prenolepis imparis, purseweb spider, Sphodros, Sphodros nigripes, spider, spring beauty, spring ephemerals, sweat bee
10 Comments
Another Progress Report (Goofing Off in the Desert)
Remember at the beginning of last year when I announced that I had finished making keys to the known leaf mines on every plant genus in the US and Canada? I noted that “this project can never really be finished, because … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Abronia, Acanthaceae, Acmaeodera, Acmaeodera vernalis, Andrenidae, Asteraceae, bee, beetle, blister beetle, Boraginaceae, brittlebush, Bucculatrix, Bucculatrix sphaeralceae, Buprestidae, butterfly, checkered beetle, checkerspot, Cleridae, Coleoptera, Crambidae, Cysteodemus armatus, desert chicory, Encelia, Encelia farinosa, Eremalche rotundifolia, Eupompha elegans, Eurybunus, Fabaceae, flower, globemallow, harvestman, Hesperapis, Hymenoptera, Justicia, Justicia californica, Lepidoptera, Loasaceae, lupine, Lupinus, Lytta, Lytta auriculata, Lytta magister, mallow, Malvaceae, Megandrena enceliae, Melittidae, Meloidae, Mentzelia involucrata, Microtia dymas, Mimulus, Mimulus bigelovii, mining bee, moth, Noctueliopsis aridalis, Nyctaginaceae, Nymphalidae, Opiliones, Perdita, Phacelia, Phasmida, Phrymaceae, Pyraloidea, Rafinesquia neomexicana, sand-verbena, sawfly, Sclerosomatidae, Sphaeralcea, Sphaeralcea ambigua, Tenthredinidae, Timema, Timematidae, tiny checkerspot, Trichodes ornatus, walkingstick
16 Comments
Mailbag
People regularly send me photos of mystery objects and other bug-related phenomena to see if I recognize them. Often I’m able to respond with a precise (or approximate) identification, and that’s the end of it. Other times I’m intrigued by the … Continue reading
Connecticut BioBlitz
A month ago Dave Wagner got in touch with me and Julia, saying we were needed at the 2016 Connecticut State BioBlitz on June 3 and 4. He wanted to make sure leafminers were properly represented in this attempt to break … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 2016 Connecticut State BioBlitz, Agromyzidae, Aleiodes, Amelanchier, Argidae, aster, Asteraceae, bee, beetle, BioBlitz, black cherry, black locust, Braconidae, Bucculatrix, Bucculatrix angustata, caterpillar, Cerambycidae, Ceresa, Coccinellidae, cocoon, Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Curculionoidea, Cydia, Cydia nigricana, Diapheromera femorata, Diapheromeridae, Erigeron, Fabaceae, Fagaceae, flea weevil, Gracillariidae, Hymenoptera, Hypera, Hypera rumicis, lady beetle, larva, leaf mine, leafcutter bee, leafminer, longhorned beetle, Mantura, Mantura floridana, Marmara, Mathildana newmanella, Megachile, Megachilidae, Membracidae, Metriorrhynchomiris dislocatus, Miridae, Nematus, Nematus tibialis, Nemorimyza posticata, northern walkingstick, oak, Oecophoridae, Orchestes, Orchestes pallicornis, parasitism, parasitoid, Periclista, Phasmida, Polygonaceae, Propylea quatuordecimpunctata, Prunus, Prunus serotina, Quercus, Robinia pseudoacacia, Rosaceae, Rumex, Rumex acetosella, sawfly, shadbush, snail, Sterictiphora, Strangalepta abbreviata, Symphyotrichum, Tenthredinidae, Tortricidae, treehopper, Viburnum dentatum, walkingstick, weevil
10 Comments
No, Not Leafcutter Bees
Okay, there have been six votes for leafcutter bees being the culprit for yesterday’s mystery sign. Dave Almquist was the only one to qualify his guess: “They look almost like partial cuts from leafcutter bees, assuming that the leaves are … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Attelabidae, bee, Coleoptera, Curculionoidea, Hymenoptera, leaf-rolling weevil, leafcutter bee, Megachile, Megachilidae, weevil
5 Comments
Microhabitats
It was a nice surprise yesterday morning, when I stepped out into my front yard, to see the first wild turkeys since my neighbor shot the beautiful tom that was displaying there earlier this spring. And it was great to see … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Apidae, bee, bird, carpenter bee, Ceratina, nest, Oxalis, Oxalis violacea, Rhus, Rhus typhina, small carpenter bee, staghorn sumac, sumac, swallow, tree swallow, violet wood sorrel, wood sorrel
2 Comments
Monthly Mystery #10: Bees in a Mud Nest
An interesting series of photos was recently moved to BugGuide’s “Frass” section (a place where rejected submissions are held temporarily before being deleted forever), so I thought I would salvage them and post them here so they can continue to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Agapostemon, bee, beewolf, Crabronidae, Eumeninae, Halictidae, mason wasp, nest, Philanthus, predation, Vespidae, wasp
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Early Spring (and Late Winter) Bees
Over the past few days, on my walks in the woods, I’ve seen a number of little bees buzzing around just above the forest floor. None of them have held still long enough for me to even attempt a photo, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Andrena, Andrenidae, Apidae, bee, cuckoo bee, Halictidae, Lasioglossum, mining bee, Nomada, sweat bee
2 Comments
BugTracks 