Here in Massachusetts, I've definitely noticed the effects of the drought on the general plant health, and relatedly, the insect abundance. The plants have less flowers and there seem to be less insects overall (including mosquitoes which is the one nice thing). Today nearly the entire state is in 'severe drought' with a third of the state being in a state of 'extreme drought.'
This afternoon I checked my local patch that is right off the bike trail. I created a 'Place' on iNaturalist to track my observations within the geographic range of this spot and the website automatically tracks all my observations made within it.
My spot seemed quiet today. But despite the relative lack of activity in the late afternoon I was still able to find some new species for my patch. That is what is good about looking for insects, there is always something new to find. With birds you eventually run out :)
Here's who I was able to find today...
The honeybees were still out working on the Burdock flowers. I found one bumblebee who was also invited for dinner...
I'm not sure which species of Crab Spider this is. I found it on goldenrod but I can't decide between the genus Misumena or Misumenoides. Both appear to have yellow coloration like this. I might need to see the coloration below the eye to make a distinction. Any thoughts?
There is a dead pine tree with bark peeling off of it. I checked underneath one piece and found a moth! Lucky me.
Nearby there is a living pine, an young Eastern White Pine. On it I found a bright beetle hanging on to a needle at eye level.
This was a new species for me. It's a cool little colorful guy. I see why "beetle people" are so fond of the Coleoptera.
Farther along the path, I found a pile of red on the floor moving and twitching...
And some adults weren't too far off...
As I was looking at the boxelder bugs, I heard a crash in the bushes nearby. Something fell from the trees very close to me. Then I saw it start slowly moving, crawling up the nearest vegetation. It was huge! Compared to the wasps and bees I saw earlier this thing was three times the size.
It was an Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp (Sphecius speciosus). It seemed to be struggling, moving slowly and making only short flights or hops. I observed it with the thought that it might go grab the cicada it just stung and fly away with it. But there was no cicada and it kept crawling towards me. I can tell it was looking at me as I took these photos.
I wanted to get really closeup shots of it but it's size and awareness told me that I was probably pushing my luck even though these rarely sting humans. I think this was a female and you can see the stinger above. I walked away.
Ten minutes later I came back down the path on my way to leave. The wasp was still there, in the same spot. Strange. Maybe it wasn't long for this world? I decided to try for some closer shots....
This is as close as I got before I realized that she appeared to be pumping her abdomen and the stinger was protruding more and more. I bid farewell right after...
Thanks for checking out my post. All photos are my own. Until next time!
I hadn't seen the update to severe yet. Sigh... That Sumac Flea Beetle is quite something! I've never seen a Red-headed Bush Cricket; I'll have to keep an eye out. Prudent with that giant wasp...
Thank you! Haha I think I tested my luck enough and the poor wasp probably just wanted to be left alone 😅
Hopefully the peaking hurricane season dumps some rain on us...
Congratulations @funferall! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s):
Your next target is to reach 8000 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
Very interesting post!
Thank you :)