Summer Nectar 2 - Japanese Knotweed

The most popular source of food for nectarivores at Halibut Point in mid-August is the flowering Japanese Knotweed. It bridges a nutritional gap for them between the seasons of meadowsweet and goldenrod.

Japanese Knotweed, Polygonum cuspidatum 

Knotweed is an assertive plant on the Least Wanted List among invasive species. It thuggishly resists removal from refined gardens, but its verdure and flowers persevere admirably through drought and poor soil. Alongside this meadow its spreading tendencies are kept in check by woods to the rear and by lawn mowing to the front. Here insects find a mid-summer nectar bonanza.

Four-toothed Mason Wasp, Monobia quadridens

The knotweed clump hosts a great convergence of feeding insects, wasps prominently among them. At no other time or place have I seen such a varied concentration of wasp species on Halibut Point.

Square-headed Wasp, family Crabronidae

The Crabronidae  family of wasps is considered by entomologists to be the evolutionary forebear of bees. While wasps are generally carnivorous at least in provisioning their young with captured insects, bees have developed the ability to live exclusively on pollen and nectar at all stages of their lives.

Jewel Beetle Wasp, Cerceris fumipennis, family Crabronidae

Many adult wasps depend on flower nourishment. Though most of them lack the body hairs or special receptacles with which bees transport pollen, wasps still potentially contribute to the fertilization of some plant species.

Mexican Grass-carrying Wasp, Isodontia mexicana

Seen under magnification, wasps in the genus Isodontia look particularly furry.

Yellowjacket, Vespula maculifrons

Unlike bees, many wasps have the ability to sting repeatedly when preying on other insects, or when defending their nests.

Blackjacket, Vespula consobrina

They are a benign presence foraging in the knotweed flower community.

Bald-faced Hornet, Dolichovespula maculata

'Hornet' seems to be a term reserved for larger, chunkier wasps. All hornets are wasps, but all wasps are not hornets.

Northern Paper Wasp, Polistes fuscatus

Some species of wasps nest together socially by building papery homes from masticated materials.

Great Black Wasp, Sphex pensylvanicus

Like all insects, wasps have a hard exoskeleton which protects their three main body parts, the head, the mesosoma (including the thorax and the first segment of the abdomen) and the metasoma. 

Thread-waisted Wasp, Ammophila nigricans

Wasps have distinctly narrow waists joining the first and second segments of the abdomen. These 'petioles' are particularly conspicuous in the thread-waisted group. Their two pairs of membranous wings are held together by small hooks. The forewings are larger than the hind ones.

Gold-marked Thread-waisted Wasp, Eremnophila aureonotata

Wasps possess mandibles adapted for biting and cutting, like those of many other insects, such as grasshoppers, but their other mouthparts are formed into a suctorial probiscus which enables them to drink nectar. 

Rusty Spider Wasp, Tachypompilus ferrugineus nigrescens

In addition to their large compound eyes wasps have several simple eyes known as ocelli which are typically arranged in a triangle just forward of the vertex of the head. No doubt this accounts for their hunting abilities when roaming at high speed over meadows and shrubbery, searching out insect and spider prey.