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Flat-Tailed Leafcutter Bee

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.

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Explicit Arches Moth

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)

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Smoky Tentanolita Moth

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)

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Garden Webworm Moth

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)

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Bent Winged Owlet Moth

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)

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European Paper Wasp

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

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Mexican Grass-Carrying Wasp

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)

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Rusty Spider Wasp

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)

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Polistes Wasp

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)

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Physocephala furcillata Fly

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)