Bugfolks

Reduviidae, Phymata sp. I most often see this very common Ambush bug sitting motionless on flowers like goldenrod and tansy. The well developed musculature of the raptorial forelegs creates enlarged femora with which it is able to quickly seize its prey. It is capable of catching insects larger than itself, and favorites are bumble and honey bees, solitary bees, wasps and flies.

Cercopidae: Spittlebug on pine. There are many species of Spittlebugs, which produce the frothy substance from abdominal and anal secretions. One or more nymphs are concealed beneath the spittle while they feed on plant juices. It protects them from predators while they mature, and after the last nymphal molt, adults emerge from the spittle and actively crawl & fly about.

Spittlebug nymph on pine exposed

Cercopidae adult, froghopper

Spittlebug mass on leaves

Spittlebug nymph partially exposed

Spittlebug nymph exposed

Margot Monson

St. Paul, MN

This parasitoid is a female Braconid wasp, Agathis malvacearum, searching for the larva of the Gelechiid moth, Metzneria lapella, which feeds in the seedheads of Common Burdock.  Note her long ovipositor.

This A. malvacearum female has located the larva within the seedhead and now positions her ovipositor vertically and deposits her egg.  When the egg hatches, the wasp larva completes its development by feeding on the still living Gelechiid larva, but by the time it is ready to pupate, the larva is dead.

Sphecid wasp, Ammophila sp. gathering pollen & nectar.  They dig underground nests and provision them with insects such as Notodontid moth larvae, which they have paralyzed and on which they lay their eggs.  The wasp larvae feed on the living moth larvae until they are ready to pupate and finish their development, and by which time the moth larva is dead.

This is the first time I have observed this Ichneumonid wasp, Trogus pennator, which is parasitoid of swallowtail butterflies.  I found it rapidly searching within the dill and fennel of my herb garden in September, most likely for the Black Swallowtail larvae that may be feeding there.  The orange and black coloring were spectacular, almost iridescent in the sunlight.

This large Sphecid wasp, was often seen flying rapidly about my garden and frequently feeding on the pollen and nectar of Gooseneck Loosestrife and Butterflyweed.  In late fall, there were many flying about the Butterflyweed outside the Science Museum in St. Paul. These wasps are commonly parasitoids of large insects such as grasshoppers and also spiders, with which they provision their nests and lay their eggs.

Another large Sphecid wasp, Sphex pensylvanicus,  commonly seen exclusively gathering pollen and nectar on my Gooseneck Loosestrife.  They are also spider and grasshopper parasitoids, with which they provision their nests and lay a single egg.   Interestingly, when the large black wasp with the white patch on the thorax (shown above) entered the garden, the Sphex wasps quickly left.  When the black and white wasps left, the Sphex returned.

Margot Monson

St. Paul, MN