Is that sawdust on those leaves? If so my guess is a carpenter bee. I’ve got some that leave behind significant amounts of sawdust myself here in Mi
Scott
Looks more like a fly than a bee.
I posted your photo to the Butterflies and Moths of North America web site, and one of their intrepid members has ID’d your caterpillar as Sphecodina abbottii, or Abbott’s Sphinx moth caterpillar.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Sphecodina-abbottii
http://bugguide.net/node/view/4592
Host plant for the caterpillar is - you guessed it - grape vines. So, not really a “good guy”, as they will eat the leaves. The caterpillar goes through several morphs, so they can look pretty different, depending upon how old it is.
Patty S.
Thanks
I think this is what they call the fifth instar nymph stage of the green stink bug. Found it on my hat today after mowing my orchard. Needless to say it got squished.
Good to be acquainted with them!
Saw this today in my orchard. I think it’s a predatory robber fly that has killed a small bee of some type.
Could not for the life of me get my camera phone to focus on it.
Hey guys, sorry I made my own thread. I was a dummy and should have just posted it here!
If there is any way to move it to this thread go ahead. If not no worries. I just felt bad since I started a whole new thread rather than putting it on a thread that is for this purpose.
Speedster: Yes, Robber Fly and perhaps Sweat Bee victim.
That looks like a Ladybird Beetle.Brady
Spotted Lady Beetle (Coleomegilla maculata). http://bugguide.net/node/view/8376 One of the good guys.
Patty S.
Thanks!
A beneficial bug for once. I did not recognise it as a “Lady” bug because of the body shape. I also find them in yellow but otherwise identical
Getting ready for the leaves to start falling and walked around the orchard. I spotted this on my Nadia. At first I thought aphids but after looking at them closely I noticed many of them had wings. Do some aphids have wings or are we looking at something else?
Yes some aphids have wings. They are aphids. At this time of yr they’re not a concern.
Oh man. They sound like positive creatures to have in the garden except for one thing, I have Mason bees. Are these the same parisitoid wasps that are known to invade Mason bee homes and destroy the pupa?