A new community at the spruce stump

By the end of June, the mason bees and their predators and parasites on the old spruce stump were pretty much gone. But now it's an active place again. A crabronid wasp (Trypoxylon) is nesting in a drilled hole, as are two species of Megachilid bees. I also noticed a small black bee as it was leaving a tiny beetle(?) hole. And a cuckoo wasp was exploring the nesting sites of the new occupants. Since they were all moving a bit too fast to photograph, I captured them in vials, cooled them down, took some pictures, and released them. Hope they find their way back to the stump.

Posted on July 15, 2018 02:56 AM by swells