American Sand Wasp/Bembix americana. Here’s another. The most frequently seen wasp on these flowers at Bush Terminal. There’s a good bit of sandy soil around, which is what these nest in. They feed their young flower flies. Not maggots, adult flies. Bicyrtes ventralis. This is another sand wasp (Bembicinae), a hunter of true bugs. First…

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Amidst the general chaos and despair of Bush Terminal Park, ecologically speaking, this strip of Pycnanthemum has been bringing all the pollinators to the yard. I think it’s Narrowleaf Mountainmint/P. tenuifolium, one of a several species of this pollinator-magnet, and this is its first year. Various bee and butterfly species were feasting on these tiny…

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Osprey Edition

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At the Calvin University Ecosystem Preserve and Native Gardens in Grand Rapids, I spotted an Appalachian Brown/Lethe appalachia, although to be honest I first thought it was another of the rather similar Lethe species.

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Painted Beauty American Lady Black Swallowtail male Pipevine Swallowtail male Eastern Tailed-Blue Summer (presumably) Azure Clouded Sulphur Common Sootywing

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I have been on the lookout for Dogbane Leaf Beetles/Chrysochus auratus. They can potentially be found anywhere Hemp Dogbane/Apocynum cannabinum is found, for they eat the stuff. They’re known in NYC, including my subdivision thereof (Brooklyn). But it was only this past weekend that I finally came across several, including at least three mating pairs.…

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Marthalicia Matarrita’s Grey Hawk at 500 W. 135th St., part of the Audubon Mural Project. Spotted in Upper Manhattan recently, just before seeing two vocal no, three! no, four! Peregrine Falcons overhead. (Was in the car, couldn’t photograph.) Must have been a whole family above the avenue. Wow!

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