July 2, 2022
Still no syrphids! Did the new colony of tree swallows eat them all up? Eat everything up? Bugs are very difficult to find this season.
But I did find 5 this morning. Perfect weather after rain at dawn. Two spiders, two native bees, and that St. Johnswort beetle. Those beetles, of which I found several today on one Rudbeckia plant had their noses into the stem. Whether they were piercing the stem, I could not tell. But there was one who seemed to have another insect with it, as if it was eating it. A bee? Even close examination on the computer failed to solve the mystery. I don't even know yet if they are omnivorous. I did get one to crawl about on my hand.
A masked bee! One of my favorites, if only because of the name and the eyes. A beautiful green bee, also.
The camera is ready to go out for repairs. This is going to be the biennial Rudbeckia year. Poor Lucy was bloodied by deer flies. And I have a tiny little tomato growing on my one and only plant.
Update: I have been reading about Chrysolina hyperici. Information is difficult to find. It isn't in any of my beetle guide books. But Canada and UK sites have some. They are not omnivorous but apparently they don't stick to St. John's Wort, either. I found them on Leucanthemum vulgare and Rudbeckia hirta. What looked like a bee (at least to me with poor eyes) seems to be aphids! That requires further investigation tomorrow. Are C. hyperici attracted to honey dew also? They were imported from Australia in 1943. Australia got them from Europe. They are used to eradicate St. John's Wort, which is a pesky invasive in the west of the US.
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