Mutillidae

It has been almost a year since my last post it would seem, but I have made a lot of progress on the insect collection, believe it or not - I actually went to Virginia and got a lot of very nice butterflies, moths, dragonflies, and cicadas - enough to actually make a couple insect display boxes - not just collections. As it is summer again and I may have more time to collect, among my medical student duties, and my fellow insect-collector is now living with me and not in San Diego anymore, it seemed time to introduce one of my more recent specimens...

Hymenoptera; Aculeata; Vespidoidea; Mutillidae; Dasymutilla (aureola?)

Common Name: Velvet Ant, Cow Killer

The name 'Cow Killer' is an obvious misnomer - while these velvet "ants" (they are actually wasps) can inflict a rather painful sting, they do not kill cattle. When I collected this specimen in the East Bay Area (Sonoma County), I didn't have a collection jar and so I tried to keep it in my sock while I brought it back to the car, and it did manage to sting me even through the sock. Didn't get a welt but it did hurt. Anyhow, these wasps are active during the summer in dry, open habitats. The females are seen crawling on the grounds, often mistaken for large furry ants, and the winged males (which do not sting) fertilize eggs lain by the females. Dasymutilla is a very big genus, with species' colors including red, orange, yellow and white. There is another species of Dasymutilla which looks similar and lives nearby (Dasymutilla coccineohirta) but according to online experts, Dasymutilla aureola's head is wider than the thorax, contrasted to Dasymutilla coccineohirta which has a smaller head. Also, the specimen above probably lost a lot of its hairs in my sock, so it is not the best example of it's species. Hopefully I will be able to look for more insects in the near future and find another one of these fuzzy little guys.

Here are my 'mounted collection' insects - half of the butterflies and moths I caught in Virginia, the Cicadas/Damselflies were caught in Virginia, and all the rest were in California.

Vespidae

I haven't had a chance to do much collecting, what with medical school starting and all, so I'll pull one out of the old collection box. On campus, there are a seemingly endless number of paper wasps of some kind, so I shall do an entry about the family of which they are a member. Paper wasps, in this case Polistes dominula, are members of Vespidae, which includes paper wasps, yellow jackets, hornets, mason wasps, and potter wasps. These insects are very common and well-known, most being black and yellow. The social vespids, such as the paper wasp, build a nest out of a papery material that results from the chewed up wood and foliage of the insect. They feed the larvae on insects and other carrion that is scavanged.

Hymenoptera; Vespoidea; Vespidae; Polistinae; Polistes dominula
Common Name: European Paper Wasp

The subfamily Polistinae contains eusocial vespids including paper wasps. The three genera are Polistes, Mischocyttaris, and Brachygastra. Some literature describes two other genera: Polybia and Ropalidiini. One method of identifying the European Paper Wasp is by its largely orange antennae, distinct among Vespidae. Also, to differentiate it from the familiar yellow jackets (genus Vespula) by its longer legs which hang noticeably when it flies.

Formicidae

The following are ants of the genus Camponotus: Carpenter ants. Some distinguishing characteristics include the smooth profile of the thorax towards the abdomen, lack of the metapleural gland orifice, antennae arising above the dorsal edge of the clypeus, and the absence of guard setae. One is a soldier ant, which is larger than worker ants, and the other is a winged alate, or reproductive individual. The soldiers are responsible for defense of the nest and the colony's territory. When mating season arrives, the male and female winged alates take to the air to mate. After mating, the male ant dies while the female ant discards her wings and burrows to found a new colony.

Hymenoptera; Aculeata; Vespoidea; Formicidae; Formicinae; Camponotus
Common Name: Carpenter Ant

A useful key to the genera of Formicinae can be found here. The family containing ants is named "Formicidae" from the Latin name for ant (Formica). Methanoic acid is most commonly found in ant venom/stings, giving the acid the common name "Formic Acid." Ant societies are fascinating, and I highly recommend checking out books written or videos narrated by Edward O. Wilson, the leading expert on Formicidae. Here is one to get you started. Tip from gardening societies: To eliminate an ant colony in an environmentally friendly way, pour boiling water into the nest.

Back from Monterey

Well, there will be no official collection entries until I return to San Diego where my pinning and identifying equipment is, but here are some teaser live photos of insects and other animals spotted during the trip to Santa Cruz and Monterey. Those pictured below include a moth, a stone fly, two ants (I am 99% certain that that second ant is a winged reproductive individual, not a wasp), a beetle (fairly certain), and two bees, in addition to a banana slug and a salamander/newt - I'll wait for Phil to respond with an identification since he is the amphibian expert. Also, contrary to the popular myth, the underside of a banana slug does NOT numb the tongue. I very thoroughly tested this. The two bees are not common bumble bees or honey bees, so I look forward to keying them.

It ended up being quite a productive trip, since we found a caddisfly and a stonefly, both new ORDERS, not just new families. The stonefly, of family Plecoptera, is one of the older insect orders. They start their lives as aquatic nymphs, as do dragonflies. I will elaborate more on this order once I key the specimen to family - it will probably be one of my first entries after this hiatus!

Sphecidae

Surprisingly, the weather in San Diego has been pretty chilly and foggy lately, precluding any insect hunts. Since it has been some time since I posted, due to a lack of new material, I am pulling a few more favorites out of the boxes. Today, the spotlight is on members of family Sphecidae, one of the first few of the order Hymenoptera that I caught. The current families Sphecidae, Crabronidae, and Ampulicidae were once all grouped in the family Sphecidae, but have been separated. The family Sphecidae now contains "thread-waisted wasps," so named for their long slender petiole (first abdominal segment in Hymenoptera). Most are 25mm or more long.

Hymenoptera; Apoidea; Sphecidae (all-black wasp)

Hymenoptera; Apoidea; Sphecidae; Sceliphron caementarium (black and yellow wasp)
Common Name: Black and Yellow Mud Dauber

The Black and Yellow Mud Dauber is a very common member. Mud daubers construct nests of mud and provision them with spiders. The nests usually contain many cells, each about as long as the wasp, placed side by side. They are commonly found on ceilings or walls of old buildings. The two most common mud daubers are S. caementarium and C. californium, the latter being metallic blue.

Apidae

The next specimen is a bumble bee, member of Apidae (Cuckoo, Carpenter, Bumble, and Honey Bees). Bumble bee species are differentiated by their yellow-black pattern. This specimen is a California Bumble Bee, based on its yellow thorax up to the wing joint and the single yellow band on the abdomen. When in the killing jar, this specimen extended all of its body parts, including its mouth parts and stinger. I generally avoid capturing bumble bees, as they are somewhat threatened, but I made an exception with this one. This bumble bee is very common on the west coast, hence the name.

Hymenoptera; Aculeata; Apoidea; Apidae; Apinae; Bombini; Bombus (Thoracobombus); Bombus californicus
Common Name: California Bumble Bee

Now to elaborate on Apinae and Bombus. Bumble bees can be orange, white, or yellow on black and most are over 20mm long. They are important pollinators of clover because they have such a long tongue. Most bumble bees nest in the ground, and only the fertilized queens overwinter. Some species of Bombus are actually parasites of other bumble bees and they are sometimes placed another genus, Psithyrus. The females of Psithyrus lay their eggs in other bumble bee nests for the larvae to be raised by that colony, often times by killing the host queen and releasing pheromones to "enslave" the previous queen's brood of workers.

Andrenidae

To the best of my identification abilities, this is a female mining bee of the family Andrenidae. These are small-medium sized bees that nest in ground burrows. Generally these bees are solitary, but they may also nest close together. There are approximately 1,200 species of adrenids in North America in three subfamilies (Andreninae, Oxaeninae, and Panurginae). The genus Andrena contains most of the bees of Andreninae, and are common spring time bees. I wish I could identify the species, but the hairs make it difficult to see the body structure.

Hymenoptera; Aculeata; Apoidea; Andrenidae; Andreninae; Andrena
Common Name: Mining Bee

Apidae

I went to Coyote Hills preserve with the family today, and caught a large bumble bee - however, since I already have a bumble bee specimen, and bumble bees are becoming threatened species, I decided to let him go. Before I released him, I took a few nice photographs and was able to identify him based on these photographs.

Hymenoptera; Aculeata; Apoidea; Apidae; Apinae; Bombini; Bombus vosnesenskii
Common Name: Yellow-faced Bumble Bee

This specimen is approximately 1.5 inches long, with two yellow stripes and a yellow face. Not much is known about bumble bees. They form colonies with usually 50 members, not as organized or specialized as honey bee or ant colonies. Because the founder female has to make or choose a burrow, it is not very large or she settles in a vacant burrow made by a ground animal. The area in which this specimen was caught was covered with ground squirrel burrows, so it is likely that one of those burrows contains the nest. In the first picture above, the bee is cleaning its face (cute, I think). Their populations are threatened by habitat destruction, diseases from commercially raised bumble bee populations, and invasive social insects such as the Pennsylvania Yellow Jacket, which is able to forage more nectar and compete for space.

I also snapped a photograph of this fly, which looks like a Tachinid fly, but could easily be a different family, as many similar looking flies are members of different families.

New Additions!

It appears the caterpillar trail is closed due to the recent storms, but it should be open again soon. I sneaked onto the trail to get some food for the catas, so they seem happier now. I saw some catas out there while I was collecting food, so I guess they survived the torrents of rain. While I was up in Pomona for my interview at Western U, Kit's sister Taylore gave us a lot of insects - mainly Coleoptera (beetles) and Orthoptera (grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets). One of them may be a family I do not yet have, and I will include cool pictures eventually!

In the meantime, here is another insect from my collection:

Hymenoptera; Apocrita; Ichneumonoidea; Ichneumonidae; Ichneumoninae

Wasps of the family Ichneumonidae, which are known for being parasitic and may have exceptionally long ovipositors for depositing their eggs deep in bark crevices. I like this one particularly for its pretty metallic blue color. It was caught at Elkhorn Slough.  Thank you (anonymous) for checking my identifications - I'm still relatively new at this!

Megachilidae

Here is an example of a bee of the family Megachilidae, which includes leaf-cutter bees, Mason bees, and carder bees.

Hymenoptera; Aculeata; Anthophila (Apoidea); Megachilidae;

Most of these bees are solitary, and very efficient pollinators. They drink nectar from plants, like most bees. Some are parasites of other bees, consuming nectar collected by other bees. One of the most common member of Megachilidae is the Leaf Cutter bee, seen above.  Still haven't found too many specimens of this type.

Ichneumonidae

This is a large wasp of family Ichneumonidae. They are very noticeable because most of them have very long ovipositors extending from the abdomen. When I caught this Ichneumonid, the abdomen was a very bright red, but after pinning the abdomen became a duller red color.

Hymenoptera; Apocrita (parasitic); Ichneumonoidea; Ichneumonidae;

These wasps are parasites of other insects, specifically their larvae. When the wasp locates the grub, sometimes several inches inside a tree or the ground, the wasp inserts its ovipositor and lays an egg in the grub. The insect's body, not including the ovipositor, tends to be fairly large and thin, at least an inch long. Ovipositors can extend beyond the length of the insect's body, as in this example.

Ants and Scale Insects

I went out to grab a picture of a possible relationship between ants, most likely Argentine, and scale insects. I am not certain what plant they are on, but it is definitely some kind of chaparral bush, probably Baccharis sarothroides. If all goes well, I will be doing volunteer research studying Argentine ants and their relationship with cotton aphids. Ants are in family Formicidae, and the scale insects, if I am correct that they are soft scale insects, are in family Coccidae.

In addition, I took a few pictures of the hundreds of caterpillars roaming the area - it seems like these caterpillars are the dominant organism out there. I grabbed a total of 6 to rear and confirm my hypothesis that they are Painted Tiger Moth larvae, as well as document any that have been parasitized.