While we were home by mid-afternoon, unpacking and tackling the things that pile up when one is away kept our attention when we arrived home. (Always thankful when everything is in order upon returning from a trip!) I was in the garden a little, and this is the only decent shot of anything new.
On a chrysanthemum, I think, this is a “thread-waisted wasp” (Family Sphecidae; Sub-family Ammophilinae; Genus Eremnophila): http://bugguide.net/node/view/260
“With rare exception, Eremnophila can most easily be identified by the distinct silvery-white patches on the sides of the thorax (at the pronotal lobes and mesopleura), and near the terminal end of the thorax (next to the propodeal spiracle and the petiole socket).”
Image notes: 250 mm; exp. 1/320; f/6.3; ISO 2000.
Note: For some unknown reason, my camera reset the date-and-time to 1/1/2000. I wouldn’t think this would do it, but maybe the reset occurred when I totally drained the battery during the download-to-computer process. Anyone with a similar experience? In any case, the photo was taken on July 22, 2012.
Retired economics professor (“dismal scientist”). Married 40+ years to the love of my life; we have two grown daughters, both married, two granddaughters and a...
@michelleyoung All in the name of knowing what's in our garden! Next I need to find out if all the various wasps I have are "helpful", "harmful" or "neutral" for the garden. I know they're parasitic: the females inject eggs into a host, which will be consumed when the little ones hatch...
![A ‘school photo’ portrait [Filler]](https://media.365project.org/1/9434205_hijklnqsv2_sq.jpg "A ‘school photo’ portrait [Filler]")
@michelleyoung All in the name of knowing what's in our garden! Next I need to find out if all the various wasps I have are "helpful", "harmful" or "neutral" for the garden. I know they're parasitic: the females inject eggs into a host, which will be consumed when the little ones hatch...