Bugs, Butterflies & Hums - Page 2

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

@JustJazzmom wrote:
@mousiegirl

Do the large black bees have shiny butts? If so, then they are carpenter bees.

See photo below:

No, jazzmom, they are totally black, but may be shiny, just huge. I think I need a helmut, lol. Actually, I will look closer tomorrow, but they seem to be all black. I will look at the wings and let you know.

Sweetbay magnolia · ‎04-14-2013

Where I live (mid-atlantic), the fireflies are amazing, and have been for a few weeks now. They seem to love oaks, and in my neck of the woods, no one cultivates turf, so there is no grubicide, if indeed that is what inhibits them. (I have taken to having the occasional Marlboro red out in the night, with the fireflies).

I, too, have seen dead carpenter bees lately. The bumbles and many of the smaller pollinating types appear well. And I always have lots of wasps - in fact, I let them tend their nests on my front porch roof and in the deck rails. They absolutely do not bother me and they play a good part in the balance of things.

The Monarchs and swallowtails and skippers are still present, but habitat is still abundant. That could change anytime. Rudbeckia, muhly grass, panicum, yarrow, ascelepias (butterfly weed), many species of trees, still get to live around my house and I am astonished with the disregard that some seem to regard the importance of the many components to the natural world. Dragonflies visit me every day. Box turtles, black snakes, fox - I could go on but I'm sure I've lost you already! I implore us all to not spray poison on Mother Nature.

Edited to ask: anyone know what type of hummingbird has a black head, white collar, and gray body? They're smaller than the ruby throats and they frequent my area. Thanks.

Cogito ergo sum

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

@mousiegirl wrote:
@JustJazzmom wrote:
@mousiegirl

Do the large black bees have shiny butts? If so, then they are carpenter bees.

See photo below:
No, jazzmom, they are totally black, but may be shiny, just huge. I think I need a helmut, lol. Actually, I will look closer tomorrow, but they seem to be all black. I will look at the wings and let you know.

One flew very close to me today and yes, it looked like this picture, but I could swear that I have seen much larger totally black bees, and I think I have photos of flowers with one pollinating.