jtkindt 的最愛

At last!! After a week of trying, I finally got a good shot of a woolcarder bee. These wily bees are quite common in the rain gardens out in front of NKU's Science Center, nectaring on Allium and snowberry. I haven't seen any in other nearby yards or gardens, though. What weird looking little insects...

note: this bumblebee was huge and i initially thought she was a carpenter bee at first until i doublechecked the abdomen. in this image she's visiting a button bush flower, which hopefully helps with scale reference. i couldn't get a proper full picture since i was literally in the water and i was afraid of spooking her and/or dropping my phone if i leaned too far over

I went out to look for this particular species of bee at Grey Cloud Dunes SNA, up above the Mississippi River about 15 miles south of the Twin Cities, and was very happy to get to see some of these strange little creatures. They blend in so well with their floral host, Dalea villosa, silky prairie clover.

Bembix sand wasps are digging burrows and stocking them with flies and mosquitos to feed their young here in Italy, just like in Southern California. I watched the excavation process, the stocking process and the covering process while tracking along the banks of River Arno in Florence Italy. I saw at least 20 different excavations in progress. The first photo is excavation, the last 2 are completing the coverup of the burrow.

Small—thorax and head did not look metallic. Appeared to be the same species as the bees in these obs:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/161736815
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/162014808

Found sitting next to an area of our yard with nesting Halictus. I collected for photos and when I released him he went straight into sleeping mode. Looking at bugguide, I think this might be Holcopasites heliopsis or pulchellus.

IS THIS WHAT I THINK IT IS!?!!! I was scanning for frogs and a wren with my binoculars when I saw a very large snake head. I had my macro lens (flowers and bugs was my plan) and only got the one blurry photo before the head disappeared. I moved to another spot on the pond and waited with my binoculars. As I saw the black body with thin white stripes and my mind made the connection, I was so happy I almost forgot to switch to my camera until it was too late.