Random Acts of Living


Monday, August 9, 2010

Insects and Flowers

A few days back I was getting ready to get in my pool when I noticed the surface was covered by insects and they were getting sucked into the skimmer. Not knowing what they were I didn't stop this process.
Later I emptied the skimmer on a piece of paper so I could get a better look at what these were...
Looking on the Internet I believe these to be Five-banded Tiphiid Wasp -

Description: Five-banded tiphiid wasps are parasitic wasps
that are about 11/8 to 13/8 inches long. Adults are black with
yellow on their head and thorax. They have yellow bands
around each segment of the abdomen and yellow legs.
Their antennae are black.

Benefit: Larvae are parasites of May beetle, scarab beetle,
and tiger beetle larvae. Female wasps lay eggs on
burrowing larvae in the soil. Larvae penetrate the host and
feed until the host is eventually killed. Adults feed on nectar.

Management: Commonly found in southern Nevada,
homeowners may find five-banded tiphiid wasps in or around
their home in the fall and winter. If disturbed, the wasps may
sting. Five-banded tiphiid wasps are not harmful,
if they are found in your yard, encourage them to stay.
Looks like I should have tried to save these. The next day I found just as many floating on pool, heading to their demise in the skimmer. So I got the net and fished them out. There's been a few since, but not the hundreds there were the first couple days. I wonder what drew them to the pool like that?
My flowers are sure looking pretty. It's kind of hard to see them all in the picture. Check out the sunflower below, hiding behind the other flowers.
You know how everyone uses the little heart symbol? I "heart" my kids, that type of thing. I want a heart with an international "no" symbol over it. Than I can do a "I do not heart"... squash bugs. It's bad enough the squash bugs are eating up all my squash plants but now I even have to watch for the stupid eggs on my arugula!!!
If you can't see what I'm talking about then click on the picture, it should get big enough for you to see them.

I hope you're all staying cool or at least out of the sun. Drink plenty of water, we'll be complaining about the cold before you know it.

1 comment:

lisa said...

Poor things! Maybe they were thirsty or the sun reflecting on the pool made it look all flowery.

Your flowers are beautiful!! The sunflower is so cute hiding.