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: 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: 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: 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)
Scientific Name: Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus
Family: Crabronidae
Native Range: Eastern North America, Pennsylvania*
Size: 17-19 mm (0.67 – 0.75 in)*
Active: Summer – Fall*
Color and Appearance: “The increasing distance between the pairs of tergal bands posterad is diagnostic.”*
Adults forage on flowers. Females paralyze true bugs and provision their nests with them.*
From BugGuide.net (https://bugguide.net/node/view/41983)
Scientific Name: Scolia dubia
Family: Scoliidae
Native Range: Eastern and Central United States to the Rocky Mountains, Pennsylcania*
Size: Length: 20 – 25 mm (0.8–1.0 in)*
Active: Summer and early fall*
Color and Appearance: “The head, thorax, and first two abdominal segments are black, while the remainder of the abdomen is red with two bright yellow spots on the third abdominal segment.”*
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scolia_dubia)
Scientific Name: Euptoieta claudia
Family: Nymphalidae
Native Range: North and South America, Pennsylvania
Size: Wingspan: 44 – 57 mm (1.75–2.25 in)
Active: Summer – early fall
Color and Appearance:
Larval Host Plant: Passionflower
Family: Chrysopidae
Native Range: Europe and North America, Pennsylvania*
Size:
Active: Spring, summer, fall*
Color and Appearance: Green body with four clear wings*
August 24, 2020: Green lacewings are nocturnal. My photograph was taken under our porch light. While adult green lacewings feed on nectar, pollen, and honeydew, the larva seek out and devour soft-bodied insects such as aphids and caterpillars. As a result, the larva known as aphidlions are used as a form of organic pest control, particularly in enclosed spaces like greenhouses. Female green laceswings lay eggs at the tops of fine filaments to prevent fellow lacewing larva from eating the eggs.*
*From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopidae)
Species: Pseudomalus auratus
Family: Chrysididae
Native Range: Europe, Asia, Africa; Introduced to North America prior to 1825, Pennsylvania*
Size: 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in)*
Active: May – October*
Color and Appearance: Metallic greenish head and reddish brown body*
*From iNaturalist.org (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/466429-Pseudomalus-auratus)