Residents at the bee and wasp hotel
The hotel opened its doors on May 14th and it's been extremely popular with Chelostoma philadelphia. I'd estimate I have 10 of those at the moment. They often hassle each other, which I was surprised to see. I wish I had an ability to see which hole belonged to which bee so I could assess whether they are trying to usurp each other's hole. Or maybe they are just mildly territorial and would be agonistic against anything that came close. Several of them seem to working diligently to uncover the end caps of finished nests. Again, would be nice to know whether this is being done by hole owner or some other female that wants access to the chamber. Curious.
Had one or two Osmia earlier but none recently. I entirely missed the early-season mason bees that I hoped would help pollinate my kiwi vines (that was a fail). Just my fault for taking so long to build the darn hotel but I'll be ready with fresh, clean wood and reeds by Feb 1st, 2019.
Potter wasps have been regular visitors but I'm not positive they are happy with accommodations. Lots of room changes. ID's on them are pending so I'm not sure how many species I've had.
Most recent check-ins have been Trypoxylon collinum, kindly ID'd by @susanna_h. I have two pairs, and they are super fun to watch. But a super pain to photograph because they don't linger for more than a second on exterior of hole. One of these days I'd love to capture the female returning with a spider, or perhaps the moment she passes it off to male. They also do not get along with the potter wasps. Maybe they'll work it out.
So those are the paying guests. Freeloaders maybe in the next entry. There are a lot.
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Mason Bees (Genus Osmia)Observer
colinpurringtonDescription
Some sort of hole-dwelling bee that moved into in my mason bee house yesterday. Hole diameter is approximately 1/8".
Photos / Sounds
What
Mock-orange Scissor Bee (Chelostoma philadelphi)Observer
colinpurringtonDescription
Some sort of hole-dwelling bee. Hole size is approximately 1/8".
Photos / Sounds
Observer
colinpurringtonDescription
Potter/mason wasp, I'm assuming. Wood dust from hole obscures thoracic markings, unfortunately, so not sure whether ID is possible. It explored several holes so not sure whether she's decided to stay at hotel.
Euodynerus foraminatus? Looks like it, but I gather there are several other species that look similar (e.g., as described in http://cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/bmc_05/28e_foraminatus.html). Per Kevin O'Neill book they suspend an egg over the paralyzed caterpillars in a cell. Adults are nectar feeders and sometimes nectar robbers. Females also eat caterpillars.
Photos / Sounds
What
Trypoxylon collinumObserver
colinpurringtonDescription
I think this is Trypoxylon. Similar to similar wasp that was approximately 30' away and ID'd by @susanna_h. Link to other observation is https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/13489327.
Photos / Sounds
Observer
colinpurringtonDescription
Wasp returning to the bee and wasp hotel with a caterpillar.
Comments
Nice! I'm envious again. We have several bee houses with little to no activity this year, (that I've seen anyway.)
Two years ago the city included us in mosquito spraying without notice, and at least one entomologist believes that has hurt our population.. Not to open a can of wrigglers..
@susanna_h The mosquito spraying is one reason I started my hotel, to perhaps educate a few people in my town about all the bees and wasps that could be killed by spraying. People have honeybees and mosquitoes on their radars, but little else. My long-term plan is to start getting town residents to make their own houses. I might have to make some to give away ... to influential people. One person at a time.
Add a Comment