You remember when it was cool last Friday? Me too! So this is last post from the cool Friday (July 5th). Ok it was time to look at some more nest boxes around the hill. Who would I find taking up residence?
Well the female Coarse-backed Red Paper Wasp (Polistes rubiginosus)! So there are two almost identical wasps, the Polistes carolina (Fine-backed Red Paper Wasp) and P. rubiginosus (Coarse-backed Red Paper Wasp). The two species can often only be told apart by the microscope. However if you find them in a cavity such as nest box, hollow trees or some other enclosed area it will most likely be P. rubiginosus (Coarse-backed Red Paper Wasp).
These are the Northern Paper Wasps (Polistes fuscatus). In this case both the male and females were at the nest. The colors and markings will vary quite a bit on this species. Additionally the faces are unique to the individual so they can recognize each other.‘s faces. In fact they are a close knit group and don’t particularly take to outsiders even of the same species.
Next a short stop at the Buffalo Bur (Solanum rostratum). So the crab spiders are what caught my eye first.
A few leaves had galls.
A bird dropping moth? Nah just a bird dropping. LOL. Hey I can’t be certain until I look. š
Camphorweed (Heterotheca) was growing along the road. Maybe I could find a beetle.
No beetles, but there were this itsy-bitsy fruit fly ((Procecidochares atra).
It might have been laying eggs. But that was just a guess.
Dark clouds were starting to form in the west again.
The Two-striped Toothpick Grasshopper (Mermiria bivittata) hitched ride on the wind shield.
At the second to the last box, a Diamondback Spittlebug (Lepyronia quadrangularis) jumped on me for a ride.
In the last box the ladies, P. rubiginosus (Coarse-backed Red Paper Wasp) were busy building their home!
I have a lovely colony of paper wasps in the rose bush next to my veggie garden. I look the other way while they eat the pest critters in my garden. š
Paper wasps can be jerks. There was a nest in a shrub by our swimming pool in our previous house. I was just standing still on the walk next to the shrub watching the kids in the pool when a wasp came battling out and stung me! So much for “they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them”!
A wasp is a wasp is a wasp. They all sting and hurt. Now when i see a bedraggled painted lady i will wonder where it has been.
And they all eat the caterpillars off my veggie garden! š
Actually the male wasp in the Polistes genus do not sting.
Yup, they sting. And it hurts. Iām always removing wasp nests from my bluebird boxes. The fruit fly is a tiny beauty.
They do hurt. š
I have a lovely colony of paper wasps in the rose bush next to my veggie garden. I look the other way while they eat the pest critters in my garden. š
Yeah!
Paper wasps can be jerks. There was a nest in a shrub by our swimming pool in our previous house. I was just standing still on the walk next to the shrub watching the kids in the pool when a wasp came battling out and stung me! So much for “they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them”!