המועדפים של lmtaylor

This mating pair of Popillia japonica are wearing matching Istocheta aldrichi eggs. How romantic!

I have noticed steadily lower numbers of this beetle in recent years. Could their decline be due to this rampant heat and fluctuating winter extremes? Is Exomala orientalis outcompeting them? Are their prevalence merely proportionately reflective of the worldwide insect apocalypse currently underway? The first and last of these are essentially two sides of the same coin… and I’m sure all these factors and more play a role.

Polistes fuscatus? Marine Park, Brooklyn, NY. Beside path from Lenape playground to Salt Marsh Nature Center. On Porcelainberry blossoms.
NB: Although all the photos were taken at the same time on the same clump of Porcelainberry I am not certain if all of the wasps are of one species.

Year and month are correct, but day and time are approximate. Erect, small-shrub growth makes it Western Poison Ivy, or Poison Oak. Fruits lack hairs. See: https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/toxicodendron/rydbergii/

ELC1372 Specimen deposited at herbarium MT (Montreal).
Marais avec Lycopus uniflorus, Bidens frondosa, Galium trifidum, Epilobium et Leersia. Sous l'ombre d'un gros Salix cf. nigra. Pente: nulle, Drainage: mauvais.