179 replies to this topic

[ConcordAntman]

Stunning!
That first one looks like Osmia lignaria, but it is kind of late in the year for them to be active. You are further north, though.

Thanks! iNaturalist did pull that species up but the abdomen (gaster?) of the bee in the shot seemed smaller than the ones shown for Osmia lignaria. 

[ANTdrew]

I’ll send your photo to Sam Droege to see what he thinks.

[ANTdrew]

Quick reply: it is Osmia, but definitely not lignaria. Could be several species.
Edit: drill some holes in logs, or put out bundles of bamboo stems and these will set up nests in your yard.

Edited by ANTdrew, July 8 2021 - 4:01 AM.

[ConcordAntman]

Will do! We had a Mason Bee hotel nailed to our garage wall for years. 

[ANTdrew]

I set your Osmia photo as my phone wallpaper.

[Kaelwizard]

Quick ConcordAntman, start charging for them!

[ANTdrew]

Quick ConcordAntman, start charging for them!

Yup!

[Daniel]

I agree with ANTdrew, stunning! That Osmia photo really warms my heart. Thank you for sharing these photos, this has become my favorite thread on the site.

[ConcordAntman]

 Thanks, I find it fun! I’m still pretty new at it. 

[ANTdrew]

These photos are rather bush league compared to ConcordAntsman, but this has to be one of the wackiest creatures on earth: Hermaris thysbe. It has the mouth of a butterfly, the body of a bee, and the tail of a lobster.

 

 

GIF showing the hover action:

 

The plant is Monarda fistulosa.

[Antkeeper01]

These photos are rather bush league compared to ConcordAntsman, but this has to be one of the wackiest creatures on earth: Hermaris thysbe. It has the mouth of a butterfly, the body of a bee, and the tail of a lobster.

 

 

 

GIF showing the hover action:

 

 

The plant is Monarda fistulosa.

i saw one of those in wisconsin it really is a wonder of nature

[ConcordAntman]

That was a great GIF ANTDrew! Hummingbird moths. In August 2019 over the course if a week, I was able to see two species of them 170 miles apart and I’d never seen one before! This was my first sighting in the gardens of the Crane Estate Ipswich, MA. At first I thought it was the biggest bee I'd ever seen but once I saw the wings, the tail, and the tongue, I was flummoxed! A small, fuzzy, flying lobster-like bee with a butterfly’s mouthparts   Pardon the graininess, in 2019 I hadn’t yet grasped the subtleties of ISO and noise. This is Hemaris diffinis

 

 

This was Hemaris thysbe 8 days later in Great Barrington, MA. 

 

Just look at that tongue! 

 

 

This sure is one weird and amazing bug!

 

 

Edited by ConcordAntman, July 10 2021 - 6:47 AM.

[ConcordAntman]

We’ve had torrential rain which has just lifted so I got some more shots. I’m not sure on the ID’s of the bees or some of the flowers. I know this is a variety of Hosta but the bumblebee is either a Bombus vagans or Bombus bimaculatus. I’m leaning towards vagans as it was kinda smallish. I like the glistening wings and the grains of pollen. 
 

 

Here’s the same Bombus vagans or Bombus bimaculatus conundrum. This time hovering by a Bleedinghearts (Dicentra) blossom. 
 

 

I think this is Bombus vagans approaching a Common Cornsalad (Valerianella locusta) blossom.

 

 

 

Finally a head shot of B. vagans on Valerianella locusta.

 

 

 

[ANTdrew]

Melissodes bimaculatus and Bombus pennsylvanicus on Monarda.

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[ConcordAntman]

Still working on bees in flight. A good autofocus system is mandatory but I still haven’t nailed the shutter speed. 1/1250th second is still too slow! I’m pretty sure this is B. impatiens in and amongst our Hostas. I’m becoming suspicious of iNaturalist (and it’s a National Geographic product) as an identification tool. It suggested this was a Digger Bee 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wings are just visible as a blur here but I like the contrast of the bee against the green of the Hosta’s leaves and the light purple of its blossom.

 

[ANTdrew]

If that’s a digger bee, then I’m the Prince of Persia!

[ConcordAntman]

I’ve got a field guide and I'm using the BeeWatch identification guide but I still find B. impatiens, B. vagans, and B. bimaculatus hard to differentiate.  

[ConcordAntman]

I’d just finished tending and photographing my ants when I stepped outside with my camera only to find this flitting in and out of our Hosta blossoms. Notice the white patch on its tergite and the bright yellow tibial hairs. This is a Two-spotted Longhorn bee (Melissodes bimaculatus). 
 

 

 

It’s got huge mandibles. It looks like it’s going to bite off the anther of this Hosta. 
 

 

 

This might be the best shot I’ve gotten of a Two-spotted Bumblebee (Bombus bimaculatus) in the Hostas (clearly a popular hangout). 
 

 

 

I captured this Umbrella Paper Wasp (Polistes genus) hovering in the Bleeding Hearts. 
 

 

 

Finally, cooperative foraging between a Common Eastern Bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) and a Western Honey bee (Apis melifera) in Tropical Bushmint (Hyptis mutabilis). 
 

 

Edited by ConcordAntman, July 26 2021 - 3:45 AM.

[ANTdrew]

I love it! Those Melissodes have been very abundant in my yard.

[ConcordAntman]

Their bright yellow tibial hairs are striking! They’re such fast and erratic flyers that it’s almost impossible to catch them on the wing.