[WPRESTO]

May fly from several years ago. They aren't out as yet this year, but it's their month upcoming.

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[Weevil]

May fly from several years ago. They aren't out as yet this year, but it's their month upcoming.

Nice pic! The tail is so long it didn't fit the frame.

I never understood why here that most May flies arrive in June and June Bugs arrive in May

[WPRESTO]

Nice pic! The tail is so long it didn't fit the frame.

I never understood why here that most May flies arrive in June and June Bugs arrive in May

That is curious. I haven't been out when the mayflies were in the air. I've seen them primarily over the dam at Quabbin Reservoir. I greatly fear their numbers have crashed since the time I took that image, as flying insects of all kinds are declining at a near catastrophic rate. Our son and other boys in the neighborhood used to collect fireflies in a bottle of a summer night. Now a half dozen boys would be lucky to get two or three among the six of them.

[noelcmn]

[jacamar]

Six-spotted Tiger Beetle

[WPRESTO]

Exotic butterfly in a butterfly aviary. X-posted

[noelcmn]

From today in the garden




Quite a few Crane flies about




And there are always flies

[WPRESTO]

From today in the garden Quite a few Crane flies about

Crane flies are one of the largest groups of flies with about 15,000 species. If case you cannot identify the one in those images, it's a South African crane fly.

[noelcmn]

Crane flies are one of the largest groups of flies with about 15,000 species. If case you cannot identify the one in those images, it's a South African crane fly.

LOL! Any help with ID is much appreciated, especially the ones from my own country! I would never have guessed

[WPRESTO]

LOL! Any help with ID is much appreciated, especially the ones from my own country! I would never have guessed

Some crane fly species can be identified on the basis of size, color and other external features, but a knowledgeable colleague once told me that many species of crane flies in North America can only be reliably identified by the detailed structure of the male genitalia = dissect and examine with a microscope.

[swanlefitte]

I would like to say i still appreciate both these threads on insects. I post few because my flickr account is full. I have 100's of insect shots and I rarely get one better than what I have already. On identification, I have more to say.

I post shots to inaturalis.com often. Birders are extreme and plentiful. My posts are often confirmed in minutes. They won't touch a flycatcher because of the similarities. Buggers are far rarer and the species is much greater, and similarities are so close I quit trying for anything but bees. Even this robberfly hasn't been scored as data yet and robber files are quite distinct. Laphria index from Harrison, Minneapolis, MN, USA on June 24, 2021 at 04:01 PM by swanlefitte · iNaturalist. Nnothing for a spreadwing damsel fly either Slender Spreadwing from Harrison, Minneapolis, MN, USA on July 12, 2021 at 09:55 AM by swanlefitte · iNaturalist.

[WPRESTO]

I was photographing the flowers (only a tentative id so far) when this little wasp decided to photo-bomb my efforts.

[noelcmn]

Some crane fly species can be identified on the basis of size, color and other external features, but a knowledgeable colleague once told me that many species of crane flies in North America can only be reliably identified by the detailed structure of the male genitalia = dissect and examine with a microscope.

That colleague has a problem with .....

This fellow has its nest just outside the front door and have been observing it for a while, today I decided its time to get it in the files.

[swanlefitte]

I am not sure if this should go here or perhaps spiders? I guess I could have posted it in a macro thread.


I am hearing tons of reports of ticks this year. people finding 10 in one day on them and everybody saying how last year they hardly had any. Anecdotal evidence is building up.

[noelcmn]