Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

New Insects (And a Spider)

Looking very like a potter wasp, this is a female Williston’s Wasp Fly (Sphiximorpha willistoni). An excellent mimic.
Looking rather fly-like with those yes, this is actually a Liris argentatus square-headed wasp.
Habronattus coecatus, evidently. A jumping spider.
Rufous-backed Cellophane Bees (Colletes thoracicus) have emerged. This isn’t a new species to me, as I found this very active slope last year. They build individual nests, but aggregate them together.
And this is a Nomada genus bee that parasitizes the nest of other bees. Rather smaller than the cellophanes, they’re flying around the same nesting ground.

mthew

Leave a comment