During a recent foray into helping someone gather firewood, I found some interesting ants that live in less-than-sound wood.
Take these acrobat ants, Genus Crematogaster.
Nice spines on the propodeum!
Wordless Wednesday: Ammophila
The activity of this wasp caught my attention.
She was digging, as these wasps do.
Either my camera or I caught her attention and she flew over to see what I was doing. I know it sounds anthropomorphic, but that’s what it seemed like.
It was a bit disconcerting to be checked out by such a large wasp.
Have you ever had a similar experience?
Wordless Wednesday: Fall Harvest
Any idea what made this bare spot in the grass?
There’s a clue.
A bigger clue.
Notice the stick? The photographs are in order.
Going…
Going…
Gone.
Wordless Wednesday: Male Leafcutter Bee
What are those things on that leafcutter bee’s front legs?
Pollen basket? Parasite?
Actually those are brushes that male leafcutter bees use during mating.
Have you seen them before?
Another view at BugGuide
Reference:
D. Wittmann and and B. Blochtein. (1995). Why males of leafcutter bees hold the females’ antennae with their front legs during mating. Apidologie 26: 181-196