Bee or Wasp?
Help me identify this insect. Is it a bee or a wasp?
If it’s a wasp, I’m going to kill the lot of them.. if it’s a bee then I know someone who can relocate it for me. I hate wasps!
3 comments July 6th, 2006
Posts filed under 'Nature and Science'
Can you identify this larvae?
I found this in my garden, I’ve seen them before.. but I can’t seem to find a similar photo online.
Do you know what this is? I live in Southwestern BC, Canada. If you’re familiar with the USA, then it’s just a bit of a drive from Seattle, WA.
1 comment July 6th, 2006
Ant Herding a lone Aphid
I used to think that aphids gathered together and the ants came along, protected the aphids from predation, then helped themselves to the convenient on-tap aphid-juice.
After watching them for a bit, it looks as though the ants actively herd the loose aphids into groups.
Picture this.. a lone aphid, on the journey of its life:
Then along comes the ever efficious ant farmer..
And then it’s the end of the road. No more adventure, only a life of sucking plant sap and being milked by a herd of wild ants. (not those tame ants, but the wild ones!)
Add comment July 3rd, 2006
Aphids - providing a high velocity ant beverage
Yes, posting about Ants and Aphids again.
I was sitting on my front step yesterday looking at the plant that is infested with aphids. The ants have moved the aphids, and more aphids are present. It looks like the ants have two ‘farms’ of aphids.
A very interesting thing I noticed was what looked like spitting from where the aphids were. It was so small and happened so fast it took a while before I could see what was happening. As it turns out, it appears that the aphid ‘waste’ that the ants drink is literally ejected from the aphid at high speed. It was quite a distance away from where the aphids were, so it must get ejected to quite a distance.
I don’t know why the ants weren’t collecting it before it shot out, but it was interesting to see.I looked down at the leaves below noticed that they were covered in a clear sticky goo (yes, that’s a technical term!). Ah, the wonders of nature. 
There must be so many more living things participating in symbiotic relationships, as ants and aphids do.
UPDATE:
Apparently what happens is when the ants don’t collect the ‘honeydew’ from the aphids, the aphids flick the fluid away with their hind legs. How cool is that? It’s along the lines of monkeys throwing feces. Although I must admit, I’d take the aphids over the monkeys.
Add comment June 28th, 2006
Ants and Aphids
Yes, posting about Ants and Aphids again. I was sitting on my front step yesterday looking at the plant that is infested with aphids. The ants have moved the aphids, and more aphids are present. It looks like the ants have two ‘farms’ of aphids.
A very interesting thing I noticed was what looked like spitting from where the aphids were. It was so small and happened so fast it took a while before I could see what was happening.
As it turns out, it appears that the aphid ‘waste’ that the ants drink is literally ejected from the aphid at high speed. I don’t know why the ants weren’t collecting it before it shot out, but it was interesting to see.
I looked down at the leaves below noticed that they were covered in a clear sticky goo (yes, that’s a technical term!). And it was quite a ways away from where the aphids were, so it must get ejected to quite a distance.
Ah, the wonders of nature.
I would have taken photos, but I couldn’t find the camera. I’ll try to dig it up and post a couple photos. If I can capture the event where it’s being ejected.
There must be so many more living things participating in symbiotic relationships, as ants and aphids do.
Add comment June 23rd, 2006
Ants and Aphids
Yes, posting about Ants and Aphids again. I was sitting on my front step yesterday looking at the plant that is infested with aphids. The ants have moved the aphids, and more aphids are present. It looks like the ants have two ‘farms’ of aphids.
A very interesting thing I noticed was what looked like spitting from where the aphids were. It was so small and happened so fast it took a while before I could see what was happening.
As it turns out, it appears that the aphid ‘waste’ that the ants drink is litterally ejected from the aphid at high speed. I don’t know why the ants weren’t collecting it before it shot out, but it was interesting to see.
I looked down at the leaves below noticed that they were covered in a clear sticky goo (yes, that’s a technical term!). And it was quite a ways away from where the aphids were, so it must get ejected to quite a distance.
Ah, the wonders of nature.
I would have taken photos, but I couldn’t find the camera. I’ll try to dig it up and post a couple photos. If I can capture the event where it’s being ejected.
There must be so many more living things participating in symbiotic relationships, as ants and aphids do.
Add comment June 23rd, 2006
Aphids and Ants - Symbiotic Relationship
I knew about the symbiotic relationship between ants and aphids before. I had seen it on a few nature shows.
I knew about the symbiotic relationship between ants and aphids before. I had seen it on a few nature shows.I was surprised that I could actually witness this myself outside my front door.
I noticed we had some infestation on a plant near our front door, so I had a closer look. I then grabbed my digital camera and took a few photos. They turned out much better than I anticipated!
I may go to the nursery to buy some lady bugs. Apparently you can buy them to get rid of aphids in an environmentally friendy way. I like lady bugs, so this is perfect.
Here are my Photos:
3 comments June 5th, 2006
Human history on the geologic time scale
A quote from A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson(Amazon.com/ Amazon.ca).”.. effective way of grasping our extreme recentness as part of this 4.5-billion-year-old picture is to stretch your arms to their fullest extent and imagine that width as the entire history of the Earth.
On this scale, according to John McPhee in Basin and Range, the distance from the fingertips of one hand to the wrist of the other is Precambrian.
All complex life is in one hand, ‘and in a single stroke with a medium-grained nail file you could eradicate human history‘
Makes you think about the significance of human history and accomplishments on a geologic time scale..
Add comment May 16th, 2006