The following Purple Milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens) flower was photographed on 01 June 2016 near a large vernal pool at Huntley Meadows Park in Fairfax County, Virginia USA.
The milkweed is covered by a cornucopia of insects including ants (one ant can be seen in the full-size version of the first photo), what I think is some type of weevil (the darker insects featuring a curved proboscis that reminds me of an elephant trunk), a cool looking metallic gold-green bee, and what I think is a species of Crane Fly.
01 JUN 2016 | Huntley Meadows Park | Purple Milkweed
As it turns out, my tentative identification of the Crane Fly is incorrect.
The crane fly is actually a [species of] Stilt Bug [from the Family Berytidae]. I can tell by the clubbed antennae and distally enlarged femora. Source Credit: Natalie Hernandez, member of the BugGuide Facebook group.
The gold-green bee is shown more clearly in the full-size version of the following photo. Masumi Palhof, another member of the BugGuide Facebook group, thinks the bee might be a Silky Striped-Sweat bee (Agapostemon sericeus).
01 JUN 2016 | Huntley Meadows Park | Purple Milkweed
Related Resources
- Permalink for my original post in the BugGuide Facebook group
- Time series: Purple Milkweed (Part 1)
- Time series: Purple Milkweed (Parts 3, 4)
Post Update
The weevil is in the subfamily Baridinae (commonly known as “flower weevils”), maybe Odontocorynus umbellae or O. salebrosus. Source Credit: Ted C. MacRae, Senior Entomologist & Science Fellow. Beetles In The Bush [blog].
Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Asclepias purpurascens, Huntley Meadows Park, proboscis, Purple Milkweed, vernal pool
March 18, 2019 at 4:03 am |
[…] Showcasing some of my digital photography and videography. « Time series: Purple Milkweed (Part 2) […]
March 19, 2019 at 11:59 am |
[…] some of my digital photography and videography. « Late bloomers Time series: Purple Milkweed (Part 2) […]