Mokka mit Schlag » Bugs

Eumenes Fraternus
Fort Tilden, Queens, 2007-09-23

Today’s wasp is a member of the Potter Wasp family, which are named after the pot-like mud nests they construct. There are actually several species of Potter Wasps that don’t have individual English common names, probably because they don’t really bother most people and don’t stand out like yellowjackets. Still, these are decent sized wasps (1.5 to 2 cm from head to tail) that are often seen visiting flowers in gardens. As both a pollinator and a caterpillar eater, this wasp is highly beneficial to gardeners.
(more…)

Eastern Yellowjacket, Vespula maculifrons
Floyd Bennett Field, 2007-09-23

This is a female worker. Color patterns vary on drones and queens.

There are actually several yellowjacket species, and quite a few more wasps that look like yellowjackets. There are even flies that mimic this color pattern to scare away potential predators. Maculifrons used to be the most common “true” yellowjacket on the East Coast and still seems to be around New York City. However, in some areas it is losing ground to the invasive German Yellowjacket, Vespula germanica.
(more…)

I am declaring this to be Wasp Week here on Mokka mit Schlag. I’ll be presenting a new photograph each day of some of my favorite local New York wasps, like this Blue-black Spider Wasp from Hook Mountain. Wasps and bees are much maligned and feared, and consequently I don’t think we pay nearly enough attention to them. However, they’re usually quite harmless as long as you don’t get too close to one or step in a hive. I’ve taken some risks sticking my camera way too close to some of these individuals, so I wouldn’t be surprised if one stung me, but so far the worst that’s happened is that the wasp has flown off to the next flower. (Still, I am thinking it may be time to purchase a camera with a longer lens if I’m going to keep doing this. :-) )

(more…)

American Bird Grasshopper, Schistocerca americana
Ridgewood Reservoir, Queens, NY, 2007-10-20

Steve Nanz found and later ID’d this monster yesterday at Ridgewood Reservoir. It’s one of the largest grasshoppers in North America. When spooked, it flies into a nearby tree, hence the name. It’s uncommon to rare this far north. Neither Steve nor I had ever seen one before. It seems to be more of a southern species. Possibly like yesterday’s Red-banded Hairstreak, global warming may be pushing its range north.
(more…)

Red-banded Hairstreak, Calycopis cecrops
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2007-10-20

This quarter-sized butterfly is only supposed to be a vagrant this far North, but its range has been increasing. I’ve seen it two weekends in a row now in the Botanic Gardens, despite the lateness of the season. It perches on a flower and rubs its wings together in opposite directions, though I’m not sure why. I’ve never seen any other butterfly do this.

Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Diabrotica undecimpunctata
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2007-10-14

These colorful, ladybug-sized beetles can be major crop pests. This is the second one I’ve seen in the area. The first was in Prospect Park a couple of months ago, though I didn’t recognize that one at the time.