Flickr Lounge: photographer's choice
The biggest surprise of insect-hunting in summer 2021 was the sheer number and variety of wasps and hornets. When I was sorting them into an album, I found it difficult at times to know which ones were truly separate species; each of these has different coloring and as far as I know they are all individual species but no guarantees. The range in size of these is quite large, from 2-3 mm up to perhaps 4 or even 5 cm (about 2 inches) in the case of the cicada killer in the second row, photo #3. While sorting them, I realized that the last five are sawflies, but then I found out that sawflies are considered stingless wasps, so they got to stay.
Links to individual photos follow.
Top row: 1. European paper wasps, 2. nest of the bald-faced hornet, 3. bees and wasps of late summer, 4. scoliid wasp, 5. two wasps, 6. truly tiny, 7. bees and wasps of late summer.
Second row: 8. bright red wasp, 9. small wasp on wildflowers, 10. huge wasp on pond grasses, 11. red wasp, 12. mating thread-waisted wasps, 13. yellow jacket, 14. wasp.
Third row: 15. bees and wasps of late summer, 16. small wasp on Queen Anne's lace, 17. small wasp, 18. paper wasp on bush, 19. paper wasp, 20. eye contact with insects: wasp, 21. wasp on coreopsis.
Fourth row: 22. wasp, 23. wasp on gravel, 24. pretty wasp, 25. bees and wasps of late summer, 26. wasp, 27. bees and wasps of late summer, 28. wasp.
Bottom row: 29. bees and wasps of late summer, 30. black and white wasp, 31. wasp on plant, 32. colorful wasp, 33. lovely little wasp 2, 34. resting pretty, 35. red wasp on plant
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A year or two ago I saw a small wasp stinging prey, though I didn't know what I was seeing till I looked at the photos, and none of them were sharp. I determined I wanted another chance at this scene. This year I'm attempting not just to get insect shots, but to get shots of insects in action, and this was an obvious example. However, the wasp is small, the light was fading, and although I took several shots before the wasp flew away, this is the sharpest one I managed and it doesn't show the stinging.
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Cocoon of the Charops annulipes (Ichneumonid wasp)
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