Sep 4, 2019
Ironweed specialist. Well at least the female is a specialist in that she feeds here babies the bright white pollen of this group of plants. If you plant Ironweed in your garden Melissodes denticulatus will show up they are that common (ironweed is common too). The male is distinctive because it has pale offwhite instead of yellow markings on its face and those markings don't go all the way to the upper sutures of the clypeus. ... but you knew that. Photo by Erick Hernandez.