e6filmuser Offline Upload & Sell: Off
|
It was the first day that my Goldenrod was attracting large numbers of insects, mainly honeybees.
I became aware that this species was feeding on the flowers, with at least two individuals present at times. They were much smaller than a social wasp Vespula, unlike the previous, hoverfly-hunting species I featured. Also, the general impression of their colour was of black with some yellow markings.
These wasps moved around rapidly, mostly spending only a few seconds on an inflorescence. Even then they mostly presented their rear ends to my lens. After an hour or two, I managed to get some usable images. These were shot with my Kiron 105mm macro, using twin TTL flash.
Features I consider to be useful in naming these are the extensive yellow on the face, with a characteristically-shaped boss and the abdominal pattern, especially laterally, is distinctive. I am fairly sure that these are of the family Crabronidae and are one of the smaller species.
Harold
© Harold Gough 2015
© Harold Gough 2015
© Harold Gough 2015
© Harold Gough 2015
|