The Elusive and the Intrusive

 Of all the days to not have my camera on my walk in the woods...

There are some species of bugs that I have never been able to get a good photo of. This is my TENTH year of taking pictures in my backyard with a macro lens, and yet there are some bugs that still elude me. One of them is a species of ichneumon wasp with an incredibly long ovipositor that looks like the most horrendous stinger imaginable, but it's not a stinger at all. I have seen probably fewer than 5 in my life, and I just never manage to get a good picture–usually I don't get a picture at all, they fly away before I get a shot off. Then today, in the woods, oh, today in the woods...

Backyard Bug of the Day:

I am not sure if this is the same species that has been eluding me. But this is (I think) and ichneumon wasp, and that looping thing you see is a very long ovipositor.

Hard to see when you take pictures in the dark woods with a phone camera...

I didn't have time for a leisurely camera walk today, and thunder started rumbling when we were at the farthest point from the house, but still, I wish I had brought it... anyway...

She has a loooooooong body that she has cured around here. The big reason why I wish I had a camera today is because she was ovipositing, so she stayed put! And more amazingly, she wasn't alone! Look over to the right of the picture, and there is another wasp, and...

... only a few inches away on the tree trunk, another species of ichneumon wasp ovipositing!

That was a very exciting few inches of forest floor, even though I felt rather rueful about my lack of macro lens, and my need to get back to the house while a thunderstorm was rolling in.

So, some good news... I have a new modem, and though it still takes forever for pictures to load, it works better than the old modem in that I can do other things online while the pictures load, which is a big improvement. 

And some bad news. I found what I am almost completely sure was an emerald ash borer beetle in the woods yesterday. They are tree-destroying invasive insects that are on their way to destroying every single ash tree in the state. I squished the beetle–something you know I hate to do–and have written an email to the state entomologist to ask if there is something, anything I should, or even can, do about this. It is terribly disheartening to have found one here.