Halictus ligatus “Sweat Bee” Halictidae on Aster (Asteraceae)
Missoula, MT
September 2, 2013
Robert Niese
Sweat Bees in the genus Halictus can be difficult to identify, but fortunately, as compared to other genera in our area (see Lasioglossum), there are relatively few species in the Northwest (10). If you’d like to take a shot at IDing your own photographs, check out this key to our species.
Halictus (Seladonia) tripartitus “Sweat Bee” Halictidae
on Balsamorhiza sagittata “Arrowleaf Balsamroot” Asteraceae
Missoula, MT
May 13, 2014
Robert Niese
Another species of small Sweat Bee in the genus Halictus. If you’re interested in attempting to identify these bees with a dichotomous key (there are only 10 species in the Northwest, so it’s not too difficult!), check this one out here. Once you learn more about these little guys, you start noticing them everywhere!
Lasioglossum (Subgenus Dialictus) “Sweat Bee” Halictidae
on Achillea millefolium “Yarrow” Asteraceae
Tacoma, WA
July 6, 2013
Robert Niese
These bees are notoriously difficult to identify. There are more than 290 species in the US and Canada and approximately 1700 species worldwide. Most Sweat Bees (family Halictidae) in our area fall into this mega-Genus. Look for them anywhere and anytime there are flowers blooming. You’re bound to see at least a half dozen species of Halictids on any given summer day!
Apis mellifera “European Honeybee” Apidae
on Ranunculus glaberrimus “Sagebrush Buttercup” Ranunculaceae
Council Grove State Park, MT
March 16, 2015
Robert Niese
It’s warming up here in Missoula and spring may have sprung early! The first Ranunculus glaberrimus flowers bloomed around town in early February which is several weeks earlier than previous years. Today was even warm enough to bring out a few species of bees like this European Honeybee.
Polistes aurifer “Golden Paper Wasp” Vespidae
Missoula, MT
May 13, 2014
Robert Niese
Anthaxia (Melanthaxia) Buprestidae
Glacier National Park, MT
June 23, 2014
Robert Niese
These tiny wood borers (9mm long) are found abundantly in flower heads throughout the summer here in Montana.
Cicindela oregona "Western Tiger Beetle" Carabidae
Olympic National Park, WA
June 6, 2013
Robert Niese
Look for these awesome predators on sandy river banks west of the Cascades. They are lightning fast and voracious hunters, but that doesn’t detract from the beauty of their iridescent exoskeleton!
Chrysolina hyperici “St. Johnswort Beetle” Chrysomelidae
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA
May 2013
Robert Niese
In the late 1940s these beetles were introduced to California to control the spread of the weed St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum). The introduction of the beetles was so successful that the state erected a monument commemorating their success in Eureka, CA.
Limenitis lorquini “Lorquin’s Admiral” Nymphalidae
Mount Rainier National Park, WA
August 12, 2013
Robert Niese
These butterflies will aggressively defend their feeding sites throughout the summer, chasing off rival males as well as other intruding insects and even hummingbirds.
Anoplius sp. “Blue-black Spider Wasps” Pompilidae
Missoula, MT
June 29, 2014
Robert Niese
These lovely wasps are vicious spider hunters and have an absolutely gruesome life cycle. Instead of immediately killing their quarry, females paralyze the spider with a sting, and drag it down into a burrow. There, the female will lay eggs inside the spider, where her young will hatch and feed on the poor arachnid from the inside-out. Interestingly, spider wasps are nectivorous and lose their hunger for arachnid flesh at adulthood.
Northwest Naturalist 