Category: Bug of the Week (Page 45 of 219)

Bug of the Week: Rover Ants

Because I have an entire blog devoted to ants, I don’t talk about them here often.

Let’s make an exception for the tiny dark rover ants visiting brittlebush flowers this week.

The ants are collecting nectar, like other insects do when they visit plants.

I keep an eye on these little guys because they aren’t from Arizona. They are native to South America, particularly Argentina and Paraguay. They were first seen in the U.S. around 1978.

We often find dark rover ant nests in flowerpots, which mean it is easy to move them from place to place accidentally.

I sometimes discover rover ants at the tops of tall plants. I wonder how they manage to find their way to such heights. Imagine what the world must look like to something this small.

 

 

 

Bug of the Week: Honey Bees in Rosemary Flowers

Rosemary plants grow well here in Arizona.

This time of year, the shrubs are covered with delicate light blue or purplish flowers.

The honey bees visit the flowers in a constant stream of activity.

After watching the bees for a few minutes, you begin to notice the bees have a light-colored dusting of pollen on the back of their head and thorax.

It looks like they’ve been sprinkled with wheat flour.

Where is it coming from?

To answer that question, check out the structure of the rosemary flower up close. See those “antlers” sticking out of the top of the flower? The ones with the deep purple pads on the ends are the stamens. The purple pads are the anthers, where the pollen is released.

When the honey bee sticks her tongue deep into the throat of the rosemary flower to suck up the nectar at it’s base, the stamen catches her on the back of her head and thorax. Like a pad full of powder, the anther dusts her with pollen.

Note:  the photographs are a bit blurry because the honey bees were visiting each flower for only seconds at time.

Have you ever seen a flower dust pollen onto a honey bee?

Bug of the Week: January Bugs

I must admit I wasn’t optimistic I would find much in our yard on January 3. It has been cold in the morning and insects aren’t usually active when it’s cold.

Wait. What’s that tiny green thing?

It’s a little praying mantis.

There’s something in the brittlebush flower.

That’s a crab spider with some prey.

What is this?

Although they look a bit like honey bees, these are flies. I didn’t get a clear look, but probably flower flies in the family Syrphidae.

Not to shabby for a winter day.

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