Pollinators!

Mild Waterpepper (Persicaria hydropiperoides) in Full Bloom Dominates the West Edge and Northeast Corner of the Wetland

As I make my way through the wetland now once the sun is up and the day is warm, there is a constant humming. Thankfully it is no longer the buzzing of mosquitoes but the hum of countless pollinators going about their business in the white-pink flower spikes of the mild waterpepper* plants which dominate especially the west edge and northeast corner of the wetland. These plants grow thick in these areas but are in other spaces in the wetland as well. They provide the perches for the majority of dragonfly naiads now emerging from the wetland, but the busy hum is from the pollinators (dragonflies don't buzz when they fly -- their wingbeats are much slower than those of the insects that buzz). Below are some of the pollinators photographed today. Conspicuously absent are any of the many fly species that were busily going about their business, so I'll include them in a later post if I can get them, along with a selection of other pollinators not included today. I'll also update the captions below with more specific names as I get confirmations of their IDs.

Unidentified Wasp Species Pollinating at the Wetland, August 18, 2021

Thread-Waisted Wasp Species Pollinating at the Wetland, August 18, 2021

Five-banded Thynnid Wasp Pollinating at the Wetland, August 18, 2021

Metallic Epauletted-Sweat Bee Pollinating at the Wetland, August 18, 2021

Ailanthus Webworm Moth Pollinating at the Wetland, August 18, 2021

*Thanks to friend and plant expert Mark Kluge for help with id of these plants!

Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 19, 2021 at 9:42 PM

    Ah! We have that last bug in NC- my sister and I called them "tiki bugs" growing up :)

    ReplyDelete

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