I’m pretty sure this is a Striped Cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittata), less than 1/8″ long, staring into the abyss in my garden. Thanks to my friend, Michael P. for pointing it out for me to photograph!
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Bumblebee (Bombus hortotum) on ‘Yellow Queen’ Gaillardia (Gaillardia ‘Yellow Queen’), photographed at Green Spring Gardens
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
This is a Twice-stabbed Stink Bug (Cosmopepla lintneriana). How does that common name grab ya? It is also known as a Wee Harlequin Bug or Two-spotted Stink Bug. I believe the plant it’s on is a type of Salvia. My friend, Michael Powell, pointed it out to me to photograph at Green Spring Gardens this afternoon. This tiny bug was less than 1/8″ long, so it was quite hard to follow, but I managed to get a number of shots. The tail portion was almost a shimmery silver color—with the red, black and silver combination, it looked like a teeny sports car. I just read that there are as many as 7000 species of sting bugs (also known as shield bugs) in the world, so I figured the odds of identifying it soon were astronomical, but here we are—case closed!
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Pineapple Lily (Eucomis comosa), photographed at Green Spring Gardens
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
‘Zowie Yellow Flame’ zinnia (Zinnia elegans), photographed at Green Spring Gardens
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
I kept a reasonable distance between me and this insect this afternoon (okay, not really enough distance considering the incident I had three years ago with a horde of these buggers). Learn everything you cared to know about yellowjackets in my post, “Stinging Scoundrels,” here, and how my backside got in the way of one and suffered the consequences here.
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
Bright Eyes Phlox (Phlox paniculata ‘Bright Eyes’) photographed at Green Spring Gardens
© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.
GIVE ‘EM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT