3/4 minor news

Vanessa adult activity has resumed due to sunny weather, but only non-large aggregations (a handful per nectaring area) were visible. I was surprised to find that annabella were mixed in with the cardui:

cardui

annabella

Milkweed hemipterans were still sparsely distributed but I saw a single large cluster on a pod (perhaps the pod was unhealthy and the resulting loss of defense chems made it more palatable than the others?)

Also finally managed to photograph + identify one of the massive non-katydid hoppers:

Schistocerca nitens

Ento-walk large post!

2/25: Bland pics

The small Sphaeralcea hemipterans have not done anything too interesting, though I did see an adult and nymph excitedly running up and down the stems for some reason I couldn't determine. I was able to find few other interesting arthropods in the public garden despite seeing many freshly and heavily chewed leaves as well as large diurnal predators; any advice?

large diurnal predator

Interestingly, several nearby honeybees were displaying an intriguing behavior; they would happily pollinate Sphaeralcea flowers that were open, but would attempt to nectar-rob closed flowers and shove themselves inside of partially closed flowers. Even more interestingly, I later saw an entire foraging party apparently nectar-robbing a bushful of dead dried Salvia flowers. Befitting for a highly adaptable synanthrope, I guess.

hard-working but certainly not honest

Here are a few other random pics I took, by the way

Halictus tripartitus

Mecaphesa trying to ambush hover flies

2/26: Not all locusts have jaws

I was rather surprised to see hilariously large Vanessa cardui swarms in the European flowers section; it seems the recent few weeks of rain here have triggered a migration. The butterflies were evidently rather famished, too; they frantically stuffed their tongues into anything that had petals, including fancy-looking cultivars which even the honeybees refused to touch. I think I once read somewhere in a technical book that Vanessa spend 90-something percent of their time nectaring, because many flowers give meals sparingly to encourage pollination. Unfortunately, my phone refused to photograph the whole swarm, so here are a few individuals:

2/26 (cont.) and 2/27: Fun with the milkweed crew (and more)

I found a small party of milkweed hemipterans on a bunch of sickly-looking plants in the herbs section! Unfortunately, all hemipteran species had sparse populations despite plentiful seeds; perhaps only two or three adult Oncopeltus and a single adult Lygaeus were around, with a few large nymphs present. A few Aphis nerii clusters were also around but they were busy getting themselves killed.

Cycloneda sanguinea

(can you find the aphid?)

The Tagetes lemmonii bush nearby was also quite biodiverse (its passionfruity scent was excellent too);

yellowish inchworms were abundant

Erynnis tristis, far handsomer than the overdressed Vanessa

these wingwiggling flies were common too; learning their sign language might be interesting

3/7: A few more bland but interesting pics

I found my first iridoviral blue pillbug today! It wasn't very blue, though. My phone camera made it look more vibrant that it actually was; here is a heavily edited pic showing realistic colors.

Also, I have finally managed to get a non-blurry pic of this large bumblebee; although it visits several unrelated species of flower, it appears to be quite selective about its dining options (I have never seen it outside the public garden) and is extremely wary + restless.

Bombus melanopygus