Category: Bug of the Week (Page 121 of 218)

Bug of the Week: White-faced Hornet

It has been raining, cold and windy here, so here’s a photograph from the archives.

Do you call these wasps white-faced or bald-faced hornets? I have heard them called both. They get the name because of the white patterns on their head.

White-faced hornets are found throughout North America.

They build basketball-sized nests from a papery material they make themselves from chewed wood.

See how dusty it looks? It has pollen on it. White-faced hornets regularly visit flowers for nectar and can be pollinators. They also catch insects to feed to their larvae. I have seen white-faced hornets grab house flies that were sitting on a wall, to take back to the nest and feed to their offspring. It was amazing!

For more information and photographs:  white-faced hornets.

Bug of the Week: Ground Beetle

It seemed like we had shown a ground beetle before, but maybe this is the first.

Ground beetles belong to the family Carabidae.

See those mandibles? Both adult and larval ground beetles are predators of other small animals including many garden pests. Because they help gardeners, ground beetles are considered to be beneficial insects.

This one was hiding under a piece of wood. Ground beetles often hide during the day and hunt at night.

Have you ever seen a ground beetle before?

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