September 2, 2005 - coyote brush revisited


I revisited the same stand of coyote brush today and collected (photographically) another suite of insects at lunch. Here's a fairly small black fly – another Syrphid, perhaps? But notice the tiny ant at lower right – if you know how small the blossoms are, you can appreciate how small the ant is.

Here's a slightly better look at that fly – the racing stripes are a nice touch.

Unlike the wasp with the red abdomen that we saw on our prevous visit, this sleek black wasp is clearly drinking nectar.

Here's another look.

And a skipper.

Finally, another look at the galls created by Tenthredinid wasps in willow leaves, this time while the larvae are still inside.

On the underside they look a bit like apples.