Plant It and They Will Come part 6

I believe, judging from the 2nd photo, that it is a male Spicebush Swallowtail.

Greenthumb, do you have any idea what this one is? It has me a bit stumped. It looks a bit like the photos I've seen of female zabulon skipper, but I'm just not sure.

Just saw a goldfinch snacking on my coneflowers! Unfortunately gone by the time I got my camera. :-(

Such pretty birds.

Hey David while you are at it.. this little guy less than two inches across wings

looks kind of like a Pearl Crescent to me, Sally, but Greenthumb can say for sure.

If I have this right there is a black Tiger Swallowtail that looks a good bit like the Spicebush. The color spots are different. I am pretty sure that mine are all Black Swallowtails.
Yesterday we saw the first of the Zebra Swallowtails, we always see them on the Lantana.
Not the best pics he just wouldn't sit still for his portrait.

Beautiful, Holly!

Catmint - think female Zabulon Skipper is probably correct.

Sally's is indeed a Pearl Crescent

Holly's is a Zebra Swallowtail, we get lots here. See https://www.google.com/search?q=zebra+swallowtail&tbm=isch&imgil=CFl39mXwUsFJnM%253A%253B0nMxpAKLPQPdXM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fen.wikipedia.org%25252Fwiki%25252FProtographium_marcellus&source=iu&pf=m&fir=CFl39mXwUsFJnM%253A%252C0nMxpAKLPQPdXM%252C_&usg=__dEnc-aqClEnDvqQmbIGL0Di1wl0%3D#imgrc=_&usg=__dEnc-aqClEnDvqQmbIGL0Di1wl0%3D

Thanks Greenthumb! :-)

thanks Catmint and Greenthumb

Thanks greenthumb!

I've never seen a Zebra Swallowtail in my yard; they're so striking!

Would love to see a zebra swallowtail here!!

Got a couple great IDs/confirmations from Flapdoodle this morning.

In the photo on the left, in addition to the carpenter bee and the honey bee, is a flower wasp in the family of Scoliidae:
"Scoliid wasps are solitary parasitoids of scarab beetle larvae. Female scoliids burrow into the ground in search of these larvae and then use their sting to paralyze them. They will sometimes excavate a chamber and move the paralyzed beetle larva into it before depositing an egg. Scoliid wasps act as important biocontrol agents, as many of the beetles they parasitize are pests, including the Japanese beetle. Male scoliids patrol territories, ready to mate with females emerging from the ground. Adult wasps may be minor pollinators of some plants and can he found on many wildflowers in the late summer."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoliidae
So glad to have them in my yard, feeding on all the scarab beetle grubs, including Japanese beetles!!

The other one appears to be a Sphex pensylvanicus, Great Black Wasp! Hurray!
The larvae feed on katydids that the parent paralyzes and leaves for them in a nest.

So glad I have these biocontrol guys in my yard!!

Interesting Cat. What is the plant in the picture?

Thanks, Seq. Those are mountain mints, P. muticum. I first learned about mountain mints from Greenthumb and Coleup a couple years ago and they have been such a wonderful addition to the garden--talk about a pollinator magnet! I got this particular plant from the loudon wildflower sale, where Greenthumb and Ecnalg were volunteering.

Catmint, Scoliid wasps also love garlic chives; that's where I have noticed them here.

Boo on anybody eating my Katydids though. I love katydids.

LOL Sally! Apparently people in other parts of the country can find grasshoppers a real nuisance! :-)

You mean Carpenter bees--the same ones that drill holes in anything wood--
spend the summer sucking nectar from flowers? HUH????? Really?

I see all kinds of bees and B-flies as i water the plants at HD--even the black wasps--
but I often wonder what the HUGE Bumblebees are that seem to be everywhere???
These bees seem to have a somewhat elongated body.
Even at home--I see them all over my plants...Phlox especially.

Will have to get a pic.
Carpenter bees are rounder...stockier...I have some dead ones in my bug collection...

g.

That's nice Catmint. You wouldn't happen to be able to spare a small pot would you?

looks again, Gita, there is also a wasp with black wings and yellow marks on its abdomen

I will have to have my camera along at work. saw a Monarch BF yesterday.
It was cruising among all the flowers on the table.

See a lot of the BIG bees. I don't think these are wasps of any kind.
They just look like bees--and spend a lot of time sucking nectar
from flowers--hopping from one to another,,,to another...

If I see one outside today--I will trey to get a picture. g.

Yes the carpenter bees spend a lot of time as adults visiting flowers. The holes are for their larvae. I also have bee flies, which snack on carpenter bee larvae. Nature's checks and balances.

Seq, I'll check out the plant and see how it's doing in terms of offshoots etc--i might just have some to share! :-)


This message was edited Aug 10, 2015 9:24 PM

Cool, thanks Catmint.

Cat--
Do you know. by any chance, when the Carpenter Bee's larva mature? Emerge?

One of my plans is to get an extension ladder (neighbor's) and go up
underneath my patio roof and drive wood plugs into all the holes i can reach.
The bees are beginning to make way too many holes in the support beams.
The wood pegs may not be the most practical--as they may be able to drill through them.
Maybe heavy plastic pegs?

There is also a spray can product sold that you can spray inside these holes
(NOT "Great Stuff") that will kill anything in there. A bit pricy. though.

G.

Gita, the new brood usually emerges in the late summer. There is one generation a year. In the spring they provision their nests and lay their eggs in their tunnels in the wood, then once that new brood emerges in late summer, they vacate the nests. Then they settle back into old nests as adults to overwinter.

Gita, I found this online and thought it might be useful for you.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7417.html
Note the section on Management:
"Prevention is the main approach to managing carpenter bees. If possible, susceptible exterior parts of a building should be constructed out of hardwoods, which are not normally attacked by the bees for nest building. On all buildings, fill depressions and cracks in wood surfaces so they are less attractive. Paint or varnish exposed surfaces regularly to reduce weathering and attack by bees. Fill unoccupied holes with steel wool and caulk to prevent their reuse. Wait until after bees have emerged before filling the tunnels. Once filled, paint or varnish the repaired surfaces. Protect rough areas, such as ends of timbers, with wire screening or metal flashing.

Carpenter bees are generally considered beneficial insects because they help pollinate various crop and noncrop plants. Under most conditions their damage can be successfully managed using the preventive measures described above and insecticide use is not recommended.

If infestation is high or risk of damage to structural integrity is great, insecticides may be used to augment other methods of control. To do this, treat tunnels with adult bees in early spring before nesting activity has begun, or in fall after all adult bees have emerged and are settling in to hibernate through the winter. It does little good to treat active nests (those containing eggs, larvae, or pupae) in late spring to summer as indicated by females bringing in loads of pollen, since each brood chamber is sealed with partitions of wood particles at each end which prohibits pesticides from penetrating to the brood. These developing bees can chew their way out after the pesticide is no longer viable. It is best to treat at night when the adults have returned to the tunnel. Wait a day or two after the treatment before sealing the tunnel to make sure all adults have been exposed to the insecticide.

Apply dust formulations of insecticides or desiccant dusts into nest holes with a bulb applicator. Dusts containing pyrethrin (Drione Dust), borate or disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (Tim-bor), and pyrethroids including deltamethrin (Bonide Termite and Carpenter Ant Dust) and cyfluthrin (Tempo Dust) are currently labeled for use against carpenter bees. Avoid inhaling these materials, because they can cause serious lung irritation. Many of these products are available only to licensed pest control professionals. After the adults are killed, repair and fill holes with steel wool and caulking, then repaint or varnish the repaired surfaces."

We used to have a significant carpenter bee problem, and ended up having every bit of wood surface on the exterior of our house covered in vinyl. Our house was built in 1969 and the wood surfaces were old and we weren't enthralled at the prospect (and cost) of having them painted over and over again.

Our exterior is mostly brick, but the patio deck and fencing are untreated Wood.

They used to really like our mailbox, but this year they haven't drilled holes judging from the absence of sawdust below it. I haven't seen bees going in and out of the post, either. Maybe it's too rotten even for them : - )

LOL Muddy! :-) They do like our deck and fencing, unfortunately... :-/ Probably the shed, too, if I ever get up the courage to open it again and look inside... :-o

This weekend, I found a sole egg on my tropical milkweed! I brought it in and put it in a container. This morning the egg was gray and I thought well, it's either dead or about to hatch. Came home this evening and the egg was gone but there is the tiniest of little caterpillars! I just brought in some fresh milkweed for it, which it seemed happy about.

So excited!! :-)

I'll have to start checking. Last year, one day Mark was about to mow and I checked all the little suckers of common Milkweed popping up in the lawn. Almost every one had one egg.

Wow Good thing you checked, Sally!!

Checked on my little caterpillar this evening. I think he has about tripled even quadrupled in size in just one day!

I know it's just one, but I'm really enjoying him. (her?)

Exciting! Is it too early to tell what kind of caterpillar it is?

It's a Monarch caterpillar, Muddy! My favorite caterpillars! :-)
At least, I think it is!! :-D

This message was edited Aug 12, 2015 9:21 PM

At the rate it's growing, you'll find out soon.

Where's the caterpillar? I don't see it in the pics.

I keep checking on my spicebush swallowtail cat and he's growing. He's probably 3/4" now. I don't know the sex but I'm just calling him a he. I found another one on a separate spicebush but that one was dead and shriveled.

thanks, coleup, never thought you could freeze the leaves.