#native wasps

[ostdrossel]

More stuff is happening at the little "bee hotel". Today, a wasp came and closed the hole in the one tube that a Sweat Bee opened. I am not sure what this wasp is. And now there are two working on one of the tubes I got from Bee Cups. I am also not sure what these are, bug people, speak up! Can anyone identify for me? (I slowed things down a bit for better viewing.)

[faguscarolinensis]

Scolia nobilitata on Pycnanthemum muticum / Noble Scoliid Wasp on Clustered Mountain Mint

[rjzimmerman]

Panicked over 'murder hornets,' people are killing native bees we desperately need

Asian giant hornets (a.k.a. murder hornets) have been spotted only in Washington state and Canada. Traps elsewhere are killing beneficial native wasps and bees.

Excerpt from this LA Times story:

People, get a grip. Yes, the Asian giant hornet, now famously known as the “murder hornet,” is one huge scary wasp, capable of decimating an entire colony of honeybees and savagely stinging and possibly killing humans who get in their way.

But since last week, when it was reported that two hornets were spotted for the first time in Washington state, the national panic has led to the needless slaughter of native wasps and bees, beneficial insects whose populations are already threatened, said Doug Yanega, senior museum scientist for the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside. (Bees, for one, are the planet’s pollinators-in-chief, pollinating approximately 75% of the fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Millions and millions of innocent native insects are going to die as a result of this,” Yanega said today. “Folks in China, Korea and Japan have lived side by side with these hornets for hundreds of years, and it has not caused the collapse of human society there. My colleagues in Japan, China and Korea are just rolling their eyes in disbelief at what kind of snowflakes we are.”

[orlandrake]

The Golden patch is the place to between July and September if you're a bug.

The small flat bugs with raptorial mantid like arms are Jagged Assassin Bugs, they love hanging out in the Golden Rod and Thistle to snag a snack.

The long yellow stripy beetle is a Locust Borer beetle.

So many native New York Bees and Vespids, which absolutely loved my flower print shirt. It really let me get close and get some interesting shots... it also made me some very curious wasp friends that followed me for a while.