by Angela Hartley | Jun 30, 2024 | Insects in the Gardens
Last winter, I created a page for the solitary bees I photographed in my garden the previous spring and summer. At that time, I didn’t have any shots of mason bees. Most of the shots I did have were just dumb luck: I accidentally got photos of bees while I was focusing on flowers. This spring, I knew what to look for, and I wasn’t disappointed. The mining, mason, and carpenter bees were the first to appear, and they visited the viburnum, crab apple, and other flowers that opened early in the season.
Mason bees belong to the genus Osmia in the family Megachilidae. Mason bees are named for their habit of using mud or other similar materials to construct their nests in naturally occurring gaps such as cracks in stones or other small dark cavities.
I really like the mason bees. They are smaller than honey bees and shy. It’s not easy to get close for a clear shot. The Megachilidae family also includes wool carders, leaf cutters, and resin bees. Bees in this family are all solitary, and they have one very interesting physical trait in common: they carry pollen on their abdomens instead of on their legs with special hairs called scopae. Here you can compare the scopae (pollen basket) of the mason bee to the leaf cutting bee.
Pollen broom (scopa) on mason bee.
Pollen broom (scopa) on leaf-cutting bee
Three types of mason bee are common in Pennsylvania. According to Penn State Extension, two species in the genus Osmia are currently being used on a limited basis for tree fruit pollination: the blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria) and the Japanese orchard bee (Osmia cornifrons). The latter was introduced by the USDA into Mid-Atlantic region fruit orchards from Japan in the 1990s. Another Japanese bee, Osmia taurus, was found in Maryland, although this species was not introduced intentionally and therefore was not quarantined for parasites and pathogens. O. taurus is very similar in appearance to O. cornifrons. Look for long, widely spaced horns on the face of O. cornifrons. However, according to bugguide.net, it is not always possible to distinguish the two species based on photographs.
So the shots below could be either!
In May, I saw the blue orchard bee only twice. They are black with a metallic blue sheen, and a dead giveaway is the fluffy scopae on the abdomens of the females.
Since my quest started to identify more insects in the garden, I’ve also photographed the Osmia Georgica. The Georgia mason bee can be found from Massachusetts to Michigan, south to Georgia and Texas and it is seen from March to August. It has been recorded on multiple types of flowers including brassica, chrysanthemum, erigeron (shown here), lupinus, malus and others. They are a dark metallic color like the blue orchards, but they have striped abdomens. John Ascher at bugguide.net helped me with the id.
Only one mason bee has found the houses so far, and it was a blue orchard. I hope they fill up soon.
To support mason bees, plant varieties of shrubs and perennials that flower early in the season when they begin to emerge. Some choices include
- False indigo
- Wild geranium
- Virginia bluebells
- Phlox
- Foam flower
- Golden Alexander
by Angela Hartley | Mar 24, 2024 | Insects in the Gardens, The Gardens
Mimic fly, Mallota posticata, on viburnum.
When we think of pollinators, we often think of bees and butterflies; flies might not come to mind. However, the Penn State College of Agricultural Science noted that flies are the second most important pollinators after bees, especially in environments that have fewer bees. Unlike other pollinating insects that have two pairs of wings, flies have only one pair of wings, hence the name of the order Diptera, which means two wings. Most flies do not have specialized pollen-carrying hairs like bees and are therefore generally thought to be less efficient pollinators by comparison.
Flies serve many purposes in the garden.
- Pollinators. Flies can be seen on multiple garden plants, including a range of annual and bulbous ornamental flowers. Some plants specifically pollinated by flies include pawpaw, skunk cabbage, goldenrod, and members of the carrot family. Some plants have evolved to be pollinated only by flies, such as the Amorphophallus konjac or Voodoo lily.
- Predators. Flies can be predators as larvae, adults, or both. The most common predatory fly is the robber fly or assassin fly (family Asilidae). They feed mainly or exclusively on other insects. The more delicate long-legged fly captures smaller insects (such as aphids and gnats), mites, and other tiny arthropods. The diet of the larvae of predatory flies varies by species.
- Detritivores. A detritivore obtains nutrition by feeding on detritus, organic matter made up of dead plant and animal material, or by feeding on feces. Detritivores and decomposers contribute to the breakdown of all dead and decaying material in any ecosystem; therefore, they play a crucial role in the cycling of nutrients. They are essential to most biogeochemical cycles, including the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles.
A few interesting flies that I have observened in my garden are detailed below.
HOVER FLIES, family Syrphidae
Hover flies make up the insect family Syrphidae. Adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen. Larvae (maggots) eat a wide range of foods depending on species, including plants; decaying plant and animal matter in the soil, ponds, and streams; and aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects. Hover fly larvae are important for the biological control of these garden pests.
Syrphus ribesii is a very common Holarctic species of hoverfly. Its larvae feed on aphids. In common with many other species of hoverfly, the eyes of the males meet on the top of the head, and the eyes of the females are widely separated.
Sphaerophoria contigua. A species of syrphid fly that is a predator of aphids when in the larval stage.
Common oblique hover fly, Allograpta obliqua, is a North American species. The larvae are important predators of aphids, and the adults are pollinators.
MIMIC FLIES, family Syrphidae
Some species in the Syrphidae family have appearances that mimic other insects, usually bees or wasps.
The Mallota posticata is a widely distributed genus of hover fly well known for its bee-like appearance. As larvae they are detritivores, rat-tailed maggots that filter feed in water-filled tree holes, and as adults they are nectarivores.
Williston’s Wasp fly, Sphiximorpha willistoni, is a rare species of syrphid fly found in eastern North America. It is a strong wasp mimic with darkened forewing, elongate antennae, black and yellow markings on the thorax, and banded yellow markings on a thin-wasted abdomen. When I photographed the individual here, I thought it was a small wasp.
Common green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, on oxeye daisy.
The common green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, is a blowfly found in most areas of the world and is the most well-known of the numerous green bottle fly species. The larvae feed exclusively on dead organic tissue. The adults eat carrion and feces as well as pollen and nectar. They are important pollinators in their native ranges and important agents of decomposition. The pollen, which the flies can digest, may be used as an alternative protein source when they cannot reliably find carrion.
They are particularly attracted to sapromyophilous flowers that exude a carrion-like odor, such as the Amorphophallus konjac, which trick the flies into pollinating them by mimicking the scent of a corpse. These flies also frequently visit myophilous flowers such as the oxeye daisy — they are attracted to the color yellow and to the scent of flowers. This indicates that the flies are attracted to flowers not only for their smell, but also for their pollen.
The black-horned gem, Microchrysa polita, is a species of soldier fly found in Europe, Asia, and North America. It breeds in dung, rotting vegetable matter, and compost heaps. Adults feed on flower nectar, and larvae feed on decaying organic matter.
Black-horned gem, Microchrysa polita, on dahlia bud.
The Mydidae family, or Mydas flies, are a cosmopolitan family of flies that are generally large in size, including the largest known fly, Gauromydas heros. Many of the species are also mimics of stinging hymenopterans, especially wasps. Most mydids are found in arid and semiarid regions, but they are also found in other habitats. When immature, they prey on soil-dwelling insect larvae, especially on coleopteran (beetle) larvae, including white grubworms and the larvae of other beetles. Mydas flies are infrequently encountered because the adult life span is very short.
Long-legged flies, family Dolichopodidae. Adults are predators similar to miniature robber flies that capture smaller insects, including gnats and aphids, mites, and other tiny arthropods. Their mouthparts are knifelike and they use them to pierce their prey.
The diet of the larvae varies by species: some are predatory, others eat plants, and others scavengers that eat decomposing organic matter such as rotting vegetation.
Visit this page for more information and photos.
by Angela Hartley | Mar 9, 2024 | Insects in the Gardens, The Gardens
Every year, it’s exciting to see seeds germinate, new shoots emerge, and flowers appear. But this year, I seem to have amplified spring fever. The difference, I suspect, is that I went through all of my photos from last year to share on willowdalefarm.org. I found so many shots of insects that I didn’t even know I was taking! I was able to identify many species of solitary bee, for example, that I didn’t realize were in the gardens. Now I can’t wait to go looking for them.
A few weeks ago, we had a random warm day that forced some of the mahonia buds to open. I was able to take lots of good photos of our honey bees. They were the first insects I photographed in 2024 (February 9).
Last weekend, the magic began: my one lonely clump of crocus opened, and the daffodils were almost ready.
Since then, we’ve had lots of rain, but the daffodils are open, and many shoots have started popping up. I hope the rain is a sign of good things to come in the garden this summer.
by Angela Hartley | Feb 4, 2024 | The Gardens
Obviously, there are many plants in the gardens here, but some of them are more special to me than others. These are the plants I dug up in October 2020 and brought to Pennsylvania: Asiatic lily bulbs and Amorphophallus konjac (tubers and seeds in seed trays). Our friend and botanist Frank Watson gave me a single tuber sometime around 2017, and that tuber had developed into multiple plants by the time we moved. The original tuber grew so large that it produced three flowers (inflorescence) in the summer of 2020. The plants loved the sandy, well-drained soil on Maryland’s eastern shore.
In these photos from Maryland, you can see the inflorescence and how the small leaves pop up in May. These are offsets, tiny tubers with their own leaves produced from the original. By July, the leaves approach full size for the season. If a plant is going to bloom that year, the inflorescence always precedes the leaf. But an inflorescence doesn’t appear every year—the plant only blooms when the tubers are large enough and have stored enough energy. Although a leaf may follow a flower in the same season, I’ve never had that happen. The plant itself is a single leaf. On an established tuber, the inflorescence spikes and leaves are easily as tall as I am. No jokes here, I know how tall I am!
Summer 2020, seeds on flower spike.
By our last summer in Maryland, I had about 20 offsets, and one inflorescence of the three was successfully pollinated and produced seed. I allowed the seeds to turn red and then planted them in a large tray before we left for PA. I eventually had more than 100 seedlings plus the tubers I dug up to bring with me.
The genus name Amorphophallus comes from the Greek amorphos meaning shapeless or deformed and phallus meaning penis. The specific epithet konjac comes from the colloquial name for the plant and the starchy food made from the tubers. The konjac is also called devil’s tongue, voodoo lily, konjaku, or konnyaku. It’s a herbaceous perennial native to forest margins and open thickets in the Yunnan Province of China. It’s cultivated around the world as an ornamental and as a food crop in East Asia. The round, flattened tubers can reach up to 11″ in diameter and will spread through offsets. The tubers produce a single, highly divided leaf with a pale pink stem mottled with olive green splotches. This petiole can reach 4′-5′ tall, and the leaf blade can reach up to 4′ across. When the tubers reach maturity, they produce an inflorescence before the leaf emerges. The inflorescence is made up of a dense, spike-like spadix that bears numerous, small, male and female flowers and a leafy, dark maroon to purple-brown spathe with ruffled margins. The 3′-4′ tall bloom emits a strong odor of rotten flesh to attract pollinators. Not surprisingly, the voodoo lily is pollinated by flies. I learned not to garden downwind when they are in flower! Leaves appear in May, and the plant dies back completely after the first frost.
I stored the tubers over the winter and planted them as soon as the soil warmed up in the spring of 2021. I was concerned that the plants would not survive the colder PA winters and our heavy clay soil. I was thrilled when they all came up, and I’ve been even more pleased to see the plants grow larger each year and produce more and more offsets. I could dig them all up and store the tubers inside each year, but I’m lazy, and their fate gives me something to stress about every spring!
I always worry that the winter was too cold or too wet, and I hover over the herb garden daily, looking for the little penises to pop up. The konjacs grow happily among the sage, thyme, and Don Juan climbing rose. Last summer, I had 37 plants, and many of them were more than 5′ tall.
Here I am last summer in the “konjac grove.”
The voodoo lily, amorphophallus konjac, one of my favorite garden plants.
Konjac grove
by Angela Hartley | Jan 13, 2024 | Dogs
Meet Matilda Harley Hartley-Sprenkel: Tilly, Till-a-Roo, Rooty, Rooster, la Diabla.
Tilly is a Havanese dog who was born in January 2017 and come home in March. I wanted a third dog and Ben said “only if she’s black” because he thought the Havanese, like the Coton de Tulear, only came in white. I was on the phone the next day, and Tilly was on her way.
If you read Bella’s story, you know that we thought we had a naughty puppy. Well, we were in for a rude awakening and eventually tried to determine what could be worse than a honey badger. We settled on the devil, and that was our Tilly, la Diabla. She was into everything: trash cans, paper, clothing. She destroyed any toys we gave her and tortured big sister Bella relentlessly (just wait for Lilou’s story, karma comes around).
But she is a big lover too: loves to be held and carried and is the favorite of her aunts Maxine, Nina, and Chris Anne, who debate about which one of them is taking her home. She especially loves my godchildren, Ivy, Finley, and Gavin, and will let Ivy carry her around like a baby. Of all the dogs, she is the one who never leaves my side and stays with me all day in my office.
Ivy and Tilly
Tilly met her match when Lilou came home, and she learned what it’s like to have a little sister who wants to play constantly. Some of the pressure is off now because Lilou and Gigi play a lot, but Tilly still joins in sometimes. She had surgery to repair luxating patellas in early December, so she’s been more calm than usual for the last few weeks.
Heathens — always into something!
Devil or not, Till-a-Roo is our little black dog, and we love her very much!
