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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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Meta
Tag Archives: wasp
Hazelnut Sawflies
It’s normally a little disappointing to find an ichneumon wasp in one of my rearing containers, since that generally means I failed to rear whatever insect I was trying to rear. So when this one appeared yesterday… …I braced myself … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Arge, Arge willi, Argidae, Betulaceae, Corylus, hazelnut, Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, larva, parasitism, parasitoid, sawfly, Tenthredinidae, wasp
4 Comments
Celebrating Silky Willow
Simply not mowing the lawn, and welcoming whatever plants decide to grow in its place, has done wonders for the biodiversity of our yard. But we have also welcomed gifts of native plants from friends, and today I’d like to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged ant, Caloptilia, Caloptilia stigmatella, cocoon, extrafloral nectary, Formicidae, genitalia, Gracillariidae, Ichneumonidae, larva, leaf mine, leaf roll, moth, Nematinae, parasitism, parasitoid, Phyllonorycter, Phyllonorycter scudderella, Platygastridae, pupa, Salicaceae, Salix, Salix sericea, sawfly, silky willow, Tenthredinidae, Thrinax, Thrinax dubitata, wasp, willow
5 Comments
Acorn Plum Galls (and friends)
Hey, this blog now has over 1000 subscribers! Thanks everyone for your continued interest in my esoteric natural history investigations. I’m still slowly working my way through the photos I took last summer, during which one of my several jobs … Continue reading
Posted in Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged acorn, ambush bug, Amphibolips, Amphibolips quercusjuglans, Ceroptres, Crabronidae, Crossocerus, Cynipidae, Fagaceae, gall, gall wasp, Hymenoptera, ichneumon wasp, Ichneumonidae, inquiline, larva, Lepidoptera, moth, oak, oak plum, parasitism, parasitoid, Phymata, predation, Quercus, Quercus ilicifolia, Reduviidae, scrub oak, wasp
6 Comments
Life in a Wingstem Stem
On May 8 last year, Julia and I visited her family’s land in Hocking County, Ohio (which we’ll be doing again today, as it happens), and for whatever reason, a little clump of dead wingstem (Asteraceae: Verbesina alternifolia) stems from … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Agromyzidae, Asteraceae, beetle, Brachistinae, Brachistini, Braconidae, Cecidomyiidae, Coleoptera, Diptera, Figitidae, fly, gall, gall midge, Hymenoptera, larva, Melanagromyza, Melanagromyza vernoniana, Mordellidae, Neolasioptera, Neolasioptera imprimata, parasitism, parasitoid, Platygaster, Platygastridae, pupa, puparium, stem borer, tumbling flower beetle, Verbesina, Verbesina alternifolia, wasp, wingstem
4 Comments
Willow Stem Galls
Swellings on willow stems can be caused by a variety of gall midges, sawflies, agromyzid flies, and buprestid beetles. In many cases I have no clue as to the identity of the gall inducer just from looking at a photo … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Cecidomyiidae, chalcid, Diptera, Eurytomidae, Euura, fly, gall, gall midge, Hymenoptera, parasitism, parasitoid, Pteromalidae, Salicaceae, Salix, sawfly, Tenthredinidae, wasp, willow
1 Comment
52 Wasp Pickup
Back on April 7, Noah stopped by to get some eggs and some seeds for his vegetable garden. Just as he arrived and Julia was walking up to meet him, she spotted a caterpillar with a tiny wasp on it. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Braconidae, caterpillar, chalcid, cocoon, Cotesia, Eulophidae, Eulophus, Euplectrus, Hymenoptera, hyperparasitoid, ichneumon wasp, Ichneumonidae, Itoplectis, larva, Lepidoptera, Leucania, Microgastrinae, Noctuidae, parasitism, parasitoid, wasp
10 Comments
Green Wasps from a Green Island
Last October I picked up a fallen black cherry (Prunus serotina) leaf from my yard because it had a good example of the “green island” phenomenon I’ve written about here and here. Apparently, endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria in certain leaf-mining larvae … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged black cherry, chalcid, Chrysocharis, Eulophidae, Gracillariidae, green island, Hymenoptera, larva, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth, parasitism, Phyllonorycter, Phyllonorycter propinquinella, Prunus, Prunus serotina, pupa, Rosaceae, wasp
5 Comments
Ten Years Later
Since we have ten fingers and ten toes, I suppose it’s worth mentioning that it was ten years ago today that Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates was first published. People are often surprised when I tell them that … Continue reading
Posted in Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Bucculatrix, cocoon, Gelis, Hymenoptera, ichneumon wasp, Ichneumonidae, Lepidoptera, moth, parasitism, parasitoid, wasp
8 Comments