A Blacker Blue

After morning thunderstorms, I walked around the big pond at the St Olaf Natural Lands during a break in the weather. Scads of toadlets scurried about the gravel trails. Blue-eyed Darners patrolled where the open prairie abutted the woods, flying low and slow over a recently mowed patch of prairie. Several Blue Mud Daubers sunned themselves on the wooden roof of a bee block, perhaps nesting in the hollow of the metal post supporting the block.

Most people notice Blue Mud Daubers (Chalybion californicum) when they're around, because they're large and active, flicking iridescent blue wings, hunting for spiders. They are very similar in appearance to Steel-blue Cricket Hunters (Chlorion aerarium) which hunts crickets. If you’re not fortunate enough to witness the wasp with its preferred prey, the two species do differ somewhat in color. Chlorion, the cricket hunter, is greenish blue with a much more polished look. The body of Chalybion looks much more hairy, and is more steely-blue, a blacker blue.

Posted on June 29, 2017 03:45 AM by