scoutingforplants's Favorites

This was the most amazing thing. These are screenshots of a video I shot of this tiny wasp doing a sweeping little dance over a leaf mine, then I think ovipositing into the leaf miner! (Stigmella prunifoliella I believe.) It looked like she was taking care to deposit the egg near the larva’s head. It happened twice over 2 different larvae in the same leaf. I just happened to notice the tiny insect by chance because the leaf was in full sun and the bug was metallic.

Observed after volunteering for an event organized by EEL and the South Dade Chapter of the NAACP for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It was an excellent turnout with many young people first hearing from two great speakers and then helping removing debris and invasive plants from the pineland. The main area I volunteered in had lots of Sabal palmetto that had been cut down to open up the area for more pine rockland specialist species. I also pulled up about 40 Urena lobata and Triumfetta semitriloba seedlings during my mini bioblitz.

All of my observations here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-01-16&order_by=observed_on&place_id=any&project_id=112097&subview=table&user_id=joemdo