Category: Insects

Mason Bees (Blue orchard Bees) for sale in Metchosin, BC,

NOTE: I have updated this 2015 post in order to make it appear closer to the other mason bee information
2015-03-07 cocoons

I am now selling mason bee cocoons which you can  order and then pick up from my farm in Metchosin British Columbia. 

mason_bee_houseI raise my blue orchard bees in boxes like this, similar to a birdhouse without a front. The mud-filled tubes are complete, and they are still working on the open ones. The small compartment at the bottom, with a lid and hole in it,  is for depositing a handful of cocoons into when I remove them from the refrigerator.  This is done after their winter hibernation when I need pollinators for various fruit trees.

A section of 4 inch drain pipe can be used.A section of 4 inch drain pipe can be used as a mason bee house also.  A 5 cm.  overhanging lip at the top keeps the water out. I also have a limited number of Phragmites reed tubes for mason bee homes . They average 6 inches in length and can be packed horizontally in any container as long as it is waterproof.  Limited amount available at $5.00 per dozen.

 

masonbee
Female Mason Bee, ( Blue Orchard Bee) raised in and native to Metchosin BC.

See other postings here on Mason Bees :

Contact: garryf use the: “at sign” gmail dot com

PHRAGMITES Reed Grass Tubes for Mason Bee pollinators available for 2018 season

 ARCHIVAL POST ONLY .. SEE MOST RECENT POSTS 

 

 

 

 

Basket full of cut Phragmites tubes..
Some successful Phragmites tubes split open in November before cleaning out the cocoons.

 

 

 

 

Emergence of dragonfly adults.

Dragonfly nymphs in their last instar crawl up the stems of pond plants where the adult emerges . I see many exoskeletons still clinging to the stems:

dragflyexoskeleton
Dragonfly nymph exoskeleton
2015-08-06dragflynewl copy
Newly emerged dragonfly with one wing not yet inflated.

INSTAR: An instar ( i/ˈɪnstɑr/, from the Latin “form”, “likeness”) is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (ecdysis), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or assume a new form. ( Wikipedia)

Anax junius – Common Green Darner -Dragonfly

I have only seen this one female specimen in the pond, and it was clinging to a pondweed leaf, almost submerged in the water, and didn’t object to being placed on the lilypad.

greendragfly2 copy
Anax junius – Common Green Darner -Dragonfly

greendragfly
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Odonata
Suborder: Anisoptera
Family: Aeshnidae
Genus: Anax
Species: A. junius
Binomial name
Anax junius
(Drury, 1773)

Western tiger swallowtails (Papilio rutulus) abundant this week.

I can’t recall seeing so many Tiger swallowtails around the yard in other years as we are seeing this year.
Our non-invasive but introduced butterfly bush Bidulphia sp. is particularly attractive to them.

tigswalltail
Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)

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  • Of particular interest is the backward flying mating dance– one individual 25 cm above and ahead of the other… Several times I have watched these displays go on for up to 10 minutes.
  • The other interesting observation was the speed which they insert the proboscis into florets repetitively. You can see that by clicking on the following short video clip:
    • The only competition for nectar appears to be the Anna’s Hummingbird.
      hummingbirdsilou

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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species: P. rutulus

Papilio rutulus Lucas, 1852

Parasite of Garry Oak- Cynipid Gall wasp : Disholcaspis spp.

Each year I find some branches of the younger Garry Oak trees that I have planted on the farm to have these small brown pillbox-like galls of an insect parasite . Usually the branch will die in the following year. I am attempting to get it identified. Also the branches of the trees these are found on often have deep scratches as if a bird was trying to get under the bark?? I think that leads to the weakening of the branch.  I have saved one top leader of a Garry Oak  tree like this by coating  the damaged section with grafting paste.

oakparasite2-1024x907
Galls produced by a cynipid gall wasp Disholcaspis spp

Margot Moser of Nanoose bay, suggested that these galls are  likely made by the Honey gall wasp  Disholcaspis eldoradensis. A light colored, cylindrical (8mm in diameter), flat-topped gall caused by a cynipid gall wasp.

I am not so sure and a look at the reference on California Oak Galls by Joyce Gross made me think it may even be Disholcaspis chrysolepidis

Phylum Arthropoda – Arthropods
Subphylum Hexapoda – Hexapods
Class Insecta – Insects
Order Hymenoptera – Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies
Superfamily Cynipoidea
Family Cynipidae – Gall Wasps
Tribe Cynipini
Genus Disholcaspis
Species ?? Gall Wasp

Hover Fly

hoverfly
Hover Fly on Allium sp

Often mistaken for a wasp, this is a good case of mimicry, however the hover fly is incapable of stinging and it performs useful ecological functions.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Suborder: Brachycera
Section: Aschiza
Superfamily: Syrphoidea
Family: Syrphidae

possibly Genus and species Syrphus ribesii
Latreille, 1802

Pacific Dampwood Termites: Zootermopsis angusticollis

termite
Pacific Dampwood Termites: Zootermopsis angusticollis

A dead fir tree on the south side of the property had broken off and fallen during the winter. Removal of a piece of bark turned up a horde of termites doing a great job of returning the tree to the earth.

Zootermopsis angusticollis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Isoptera
Family: Termopsidae
Genus: Zootermopsis
Species: Z. angusticollis
Zootermopsis angusticollis Hagen, 1858