I tend to post photos of the amazing birds I see and the beautiful wildflowers!
And sometimes the insects get left out! And we do see some really odd insects here. (Red Wasp above)
One of the reasons I thought about doing this post was because of what happened to me a few days ago. I hiked on the Florida Trails from the Pruitt trailhead. It's about 15 miles from my house. As I was driving home, I noticed a deer fly was on my driver's side window....right in my view. I drove down a hwy going 55 (OK...I drive a BMW...I was going a little over! lol) And then through the slow twists and turns of the neighborhood where we live and guess what! I called my hubby to meet me in the driveway with a fly swatter! The fly was STILL hanging on to my window when I got home. SWAT! lol Thanks hubby! They can really bite a hunk out of you as we say in the South.
So here are some oddities I've seen the past couple of weeks.
Robber Fly also known as Assassin Fly that eats all kinds of other insects.
It was big, around 2 inches long.
And I still see this Robber Fly that we remember is called a bee killer because it preys on honey bees.
They look like little miniature bumble bees but they are flies.
We saw the biggest wasp looking insect that I thought was a hornet.
It turned out to be a Cicada Killer Wasp and was over 2 inches long. Not good pics but good enough for an ID!
And now I've sunk to a new low and I'm showing you wild animal 'poop' on the trail.
Can you see it's covered in dung beetles? How do they all know to come and congregate here? Social media?
And then there are the caterpillars in the webs along the trail.
And thanks to my blog buddy from It's All About Purple I learned this Gulf Fritillary Butterfly is emerging from it's chrysallis. I couldn't figure out what was going on here. There are 2 butterflies in the photo. Thanks Debbie for your help.
A pretty pic of a harmless wasp to end this creepy crawly post!
Thanks for staying on the trail while we get past killer wasps and assassin insects (and dung)!
Where's the bug spray?
Watch where you walk!!!
Where's the bug spray?
Watch where you walk!!!
We can all be thankful we survived this hike AND this post!
38 comments:
...thanks for the entomology class!
Hello,
The deer fly sounds like what I call the horse fly. Their bite is mean and painful. The Robber Fly sounds awful preying on the honey bees.
I love the butterfly, Debbie does know her butterfly id's. Great capture of the insects and pretty butterfly. Take care, enjoy your day!
Thanks a lot Diane, now my anxiety is through the roof just seeing these things lol! Eeeek!! Have a great day :)
This was interesting and I learned some new things. The only insects I pay attention to are the ones eating my vegetables in the garden and I know them intimately! The others I walk past without thinking. I should take my reading glasses and do some close looking, well, after the weather cools down of course.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
Oh dear, you can keep all these yukky insects. I don't want any of them around here. The photos are great, just not the bugs themselves. I do take photos of some strange things too though. One year, I took photos of a neon green fly. At least I think it was a fly. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
Mmmmm, may I please say; "EEEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!"
~grin~
Do all those *things* grow bigger, in the heat/moisture of FL?
What I want to know is.... What critter left that bunch of dung, for the dung beetles? Or... It isn't all that big, since can see the dung beetles and they aren't big, I surmise.
One of them kills honey bees??!!??!!?? Oh mercy, as if our honey bees don't have enough troubles. ~sighhhhh~
Glad you thought to call your husband, to come out and get that miserable biting fly.
And now, after all my sighhhhing and Eeeeking, I want to thank you so much, for your lovely comment on my blog. About it being a pretty place. I really do try to make my blog pretty. ~smile~ And it warms my heart, when someone notices. Hugs, hugs, hugs, hugs, hugs...
'Miss BB'🐝🐝
"Beside a babbling brook" blog
Wow, what a hike! Those are some insects! I must say the give me the weebee jeebies! They do have incredible markings!
Have a glorious day!
Nancy
Yikes, so many unusual insects. That little robber fly's eyes are so strange, they're all black. I'm wondering how they see anything. Those are great photos, Diane. Yes, they DO look like bumble bees. Haven't seen that many caterpillars at one time. And the butterfly is so pretty. Enjoy these last Summer days. Looking forward to cooler Fall weather. : )
~Sheri
The photos are absolutely amazing! I can see every little fuzzy leg and all of their eyes and all the details and that assassin bug is a really scary looking bug and also very old
Very interesting! I guess those Dung Beetles have a nose for news. Good thinking having a swatter ready for that deer fly. They are completely obnoxious.
THis is certainly the buggiest post I have read in awhile. Great photography!
deer flies are the biggest biters! And the welts! SWAT!
I'm not a fan of wasps for sure...you got some great photos tho!
LeeAnna
I left a comment,,, seems to have poof! disappeared.
deer flies are the biggest biters... and leave enormous hot welts... SWAT! you got some great photos but I'm not a fan of wasps of any kind.
Dung beetles are the trash collectors, and thankfully so.
LeeAnna
Insect communication is fascinating.
Wow! You saw some interesting and "dangerous" insects on this trip! That robber fly is very interesting. Not sure I've ever seen one of those. And those dung beetles sure were "hungry". I love to watch them actually rolling the dung away in a ball. They are fascinating. The butterflies were beautiful coming out of the chrysalis! How wonderful to see that. Thank you for sharing all of this with us. Loved it.
I don't get that close to anything that looks like it might sting. I am allergic to wasp and bee venom. Yikes!! The dung beetles are actually interesting. I've never seen them congregated like that! Wow! I enjoyed your insect post! :)
This post really bugged me...bahaha You've got some crazy looking bugs there. I would be a bit scared of a horse fly that can hang on like that
ooooh what an amazing aray of creepy crawlers, and your images are amazing!! if i had to pick a favorite, it would have to be the robber fly, "my what big eyes you have and such tiny little feet!!!
thanks for the shout out, the chrysalis is a familiar sight to me, i have watched 100's of butterflies emerge!!
and many thanks for your kind words on my recent post, kindness, receiving it is the best feeling possible!!
Love your creepy crawlie post...I haven't seen some of those critters before. They look a bit scary to me...
Sue
Yes, yes, Diane, Get the swatter. My hair is standing on end. Those things give me the heebie-geebies. I was letting a sweat bee lick on my arm Sunday...my daughter said, Mom shoo him away. I said I will when he has licked me salt off. LOL. I like bees...but not that killer bee thing. Blessings, stay safe, xoxo, love, Susie
What interesting insects you've captured!!
I've seen a lot of new insects this year. None of these (well, a few!). Wonderful close-up shots. Well done!
Wow! You've got all kinds of weird critters in Florida. This is an amazing post of assorted bugs.
Wow, you sure captured some interesting insects. I know they can be creepy, but they all have their place in the circle of life. I read an interesting article about insects that stated we really "need" them. Without them we wouldn't survive!
Those Robber Flies are wild looking!
Your photography is fantastic! However, your subject matter has given me the heebie jeebies!
rofl on the dung beetle using social media. I saw an insect (grasshopper kinda sorta) yesterday. Almost wicked. Then I posyed a "flower crab" photo at Hootin' Anni's. Anyway, I read your comment on Sue's blog post just now, and wanted to say love that you have a "doll room". Have you ever posted pics?
Well, that was a fun hike! My daughter would've loved it too. She's very into bugs and other critters as well. Hope your week finishes off great!
Such wonderfully amazing photos! I know we all need insects I just don't want them feasting on me!! :) Have a grand weekend!
Thanks for sharing all these different insects.
Happy Friday and Happy Weekend too.
All the best Jan
"Social media!"
I admire you captures of these insects. Sometimes, I think they are just too gross to photograph when I see them! lol Thanks for linking up!
Thanks for the amazing buggy photos.
So many fun creepy crawlies and so many fantastic pictures! I don't mind except for the ones that bite, so anything that eats deer flies or mosquitoes or especially ticks (a big problem around here) is welcome in my book!
Hello Diane,
This is a great post to link up, I enjoyed all the insects. Your photos are wonderful nature captures. Thanks for sharing your post. Have a happy day!
Oh boy I sure miss Florida haha. You made me laugh! I’m definitely not all girly-girl when it comes to the “natural beauty” you show here (who can raise boys and not learn to love it all ))). But I think I’d have called for help with that huge deer fly too! Yikes. Of course we don’t have any nasty insects here in Oregon ))).
Interesantes todos los insectos, todos tienen su lugar en la naturaleza. Besitos.
Hi Diane, That Robber Fly looks like he has sunglasses on--the sun must be bothering his eyes! I enjoyed seeing all your creatures and feathered friends! Love, Aunt Helen
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