Strange Insects and others on my Patio #1: What its Name

-- Desktopgem

Sorry I can’t get rid of this. I don’t know how it got into the comments box.

-- Desktopgem

My guess is that it is a kind of fly that has evolved to look like a bee for protection against possible predators. That is a great photo you took.

-- Robin, Massachusetts - "Live simply so others can simply live." M. Gandhi

What a great photo! I don’t know what kind of bug you caught with your shutter, either, but it certainly is an attractive one. I hope someone come along that can tell us more.

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

american hoover fly is close .. but no cigar

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a) http://www.execulink.com/~yohan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hoverfly07.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoverfly

there is a chart at the bottom with variations of the hoverfly

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a) http://www.execulink.com/~yohan

Thanks, MsDebbie, I’m going to take the photo to the Natural History Museum on Sunday and see what they say. It was quite a scary insect, being an inch long.

-- Desktopgem

What a neat bug.Now I’m curious too to know what it is.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

I found out the name of this today from the Natural History Museum. It is a Volucella zonaria (Hornet mimic hoverfly). It is the largest hoverfly and quite harmless/docile.

-- Desktopgem

That is very cool…. :) Thanks for pursuing this so you could tell us the name of the bug.

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

phew.. now I can sleep again ;)

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a) http://www.execulink.com/~yohan

I’ve found another mystery bug on a teasel. I never like to get too close and may have shaken the camera slightly but I think you can see him quite clearly. Does anyone know what this thing is?

-- Desktopgem

-- Desktopgem

A closer look:

-- Desktopgem

I thought this little spider who was waiting for his pray between my tomatoes and raspberries has such a gorgeous face. Does anyone know it’s breed? If not I will endeavour to find out later. It is a very tiny spider.

-- Desktopgem

Great close-up photos of your insect and arachnid garden denizens. I don’t know their names, but they look wonderful to me. A garden full of diverse insects and arachnids is a healthy garden.

-- Robin, Massachusetts - "Live simply so others can simply live." M. Gandhi

Sorry I can’t help you with the bug names but I have seen the top one before and I can’t remember it beiing a pest at all.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

Hi Bon, I have been informed that the top bug is a ladybird larva. Am waiting confirmation from the Natural History museum as to the exact species. As for the rascal at the bottom I will have to do the same with him and ask for an identification. I love the way the web has come out.

-- Desktopgem