Hi? Who are these guys? I was thinking wasp because of the overall shape...they're very, very busy on plants belonging to the mint family in my yard. Seemed territorial, too. Bumblers would crash into them and then leave the plant altogether. I love the way their body is so black and then will suddenly reflect electric blue as the insect works its way around a blossom.
Thanks for taking a look!
Here's another image:
I also think they have an interesting rattling sound as they zoom by.
This wasp is in the family Specidae, possibly the 'great black wasp,' Sphex pensylvanicus - see http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/okwild/misc/gbwasp.html
Thanks very much! I googled it and came up with this thoughtful discussion that I thought I'd share:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Entomology-Study-Bugs-665/2008/7/Sphex-pennsylvanicus-Great-Black.htm
Beautiful blue wings. I wonder if it is somehow related to this wasp:
It was working at the base of this bloom quite passionately and didn't even notice me.
Indy, I think yours might be a Mason Wasp, genus Monobia
http://www.insectimages.org/images/768x512/5025035.jpg
echinops, one thing about that discussion I'd disagree with is when it said "Hymenoptera means wasps" - Hymenoptera includes ants, bees and sawflies, and literally means "membrane wings".
Nice pics!
Thanks for the ID, claypa. That's it.
And I think we have a few different types of mason/potter wasps here. In addition to this one, I've seen some different-looking ones digging around at the edge of the creek and some others who've made mud nests on the outside of the apartment buildings.
Claypa, thanks for the reminder.....thanks to Purdue Entomology my third year in college, that's actually one fact I already knew...and you're right, it should have been said better in that discussion.
Indy, I think your pictures are GREAT. The mason wasp is impressively fancy.
It took me something like 20 images to succeed in capturing a brief flash of the blue color, and even with the better ones images of the group, I couldn't accurately represent what my eyes see. Gotta love digital cameras......you can shoot, shoot, and shoot without worries of wasting film.
Agreed, echinops. I have to delete lots of my shots. If it were a film camera, I'd be broke. People that are around me when I'm taking pictures probably think I'm nutty that I keep taking so many pictures of the very same thing, but when you can get that one shot in ten with the great focus and lighting, it's all worth it.
Hmmmm. I wonder if these are the wasps some people here call "dirt dobbers" ???
Mud Dauber....aka Pipe Organ Wasp.
"eyes"
