Scientific Name: Megachile mendica
Family: Megachilidae
Native Range: United States, Pennsylvania
Size:
Active: Spring – fall
Color and Appearance: Black body with thin lines of hair along abdomen.
Scientific Name: Lacinipolia explicata
Family: Noctuidae
Native Range: Southeastern United States, Pennsylvania rarely*
Size: 28–30 mm (1.10 – 1.18 in)*
Active: April and September*
Color and Appearance:
Larva eat clover and dandelion.*
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacinipolia_explicata)
Scientific Name: Tetanolita mynesalis
Family: Erebidae
Native Range: Eastern North America, Pennsylvania*
Size: Wingspan: 20–25 mm (0.79 – 1.0 in)*
Active: May – November*
Color and Appearance:
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetanolita_mynesalis)
Scientific Name: Achyra rantalis
Family: Crambidae
Native Range: Canada, United States, and Mexico; Pennsylvania*
Size: Wingspan: 17–23 mm (0.67–0.91 in)*
Active: Spring – Fall*
Color and Appearance: “Yellowish, pale green or dark greenish body and a yellowish-brown head and reach a length of about 24 mm.”*
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achyra_rantalis)
Scientific Name: Bleptina caradrinalis
Family: Erebidae
Native Range: North, Central and northern South America, Pennsylvania*
Size: Wingspan: 22–32 millimetres (0.87–1.26 in)*
Active: June to August*
Color and Appearance: Drab browns and gray.
August 14, 2020: Wikipedia notes that “larva feed on barberry, clover, and hickory.”* Since we have lots of clover in our lawn they seem to be a common moth when I am cutting the grass. I photographed this one when it jumped out of the way of the lawn mower.
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleptina_caradrinalis)
Scientific Name: Polistes dominula
Family: Vespidae
Native Range: Europe. Invasive in North America, Pennsylvania
Size: Male wing length: 9.5 – 13.0 mm (0.37 to 0.51 in); Females wing length: 8.5 – 12.0 mm (0.33 to 0.47 in)
Active: Over-wintering queens begin nest building in early spring and start laying eggs in early March or April. Nests disperse in late summer. Founder queens and males overwinter.
Color and Appearance: Black and yellow
Scientific Name: Isodontia mexicana
Family: Sphecidae
Native Range: North America, Pennsylvania*
Size: 18–20 millimetres (0.71–0.79 in)*
Active: Early summer – early fall*
Color and Appearance: “The body is completely black, the thorax is quite hairy and the wings have a smoky-brown color.”*
From iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/203340-Isodontia-mexicana)
Scientific Name: Tachypompilus ferrugineus
Family: Pompilidae
Native Range: North, Central, and South America, Pennsylvania*
Size: 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in)*
Active:
Color and Appearance: “A mostly reddish-brown wasp, with four narrow dark bands circling the abdomen, and with violet-blue wings.”*
Rusty spider wasps prey on spiders, especially wolf spiders.*
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachypompilus_ferrugineus)
Scientific Name: Polistes sp.
Family: Vespidae
Native Range: Species native to North America and Europe, Pennsylvania*
Size:
Active:
Color and Appearance: Yellow and black*
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polistes)
Scientific Name: Physocephala furcillata
Family: Conopidae
Native Range: Northeastern United States and southern Canada, Pennsylvania*
Size: 10-12 mm (0.39 – 0.47 in)*
Active: July – August*
Color and Appearance: “Blackish…but often with subtle bronze or reddish-brown overtones. Discal cell hyaline, costal cell light brown. White spots on shoulder pads small to absent. No white marks on thorax sides. Cheeks black, facial grooves pale.”*
Adults eat nectar. The larva are believed to be parasites on bees.*
*From BugGuide.net (https://bugguide.net/node/view/687895)
