Pollinator Week - Cuckoo Wasp

I can't tell you how thrilled I was to spot a cuckoo wasp today!  I almost never see these fascinating little wasps and I don't believe I've ever gotten an even remotely decent photo of one.  (Not that this is an award-winning shot by any means, but it will do).   And, since I'd intended to post a wasp as one of my Pollinator Week blips, this filled the bill nicely.

A few interesting facts about these tiny wasps...
- they are incapable of stinging and can be safely and easily handled
- they were named after the cuckoo birds of Europe, which are parasite nesters.  In the case of the wasps, they lay their eggs in the nests or bodies of unsuspecting hosts.  
- they are in the Family Chrysididae
- the adults are often found on sfowers, making them good pollinators
- and the are very cool!

Had a great outing with my naturalist group this morning, in spite of it being in the high 80's with high humidity.  We didn't let it stop us from finding some interesting insects, a nice assortment of butterflies and some good birds.  Plus we had some laughs.  Just exactly what I needed today.

And update on the Raccoon Wars.  I sprinkled hot pepper flakes in all the pots that little monsters have been digging up, having read that this can be a good deterrent . Around 9:30, as Hubs and I were getting ready to head upstairs, I flicked on the back flood lights just to see if there might be any critters.  Imagine my surprise to see a Mama bear and two small cubs poking around on the patio!  Not sure who was more shocked, but when I banged on the window, all three took off into the woods.  And, this morning, there was no signs of raccoon mischief.  So, one night down.  Not happy about the bears, but at least they took off quickly.  Life in the country...

Thanks for stopping by, and if you've gotten this far, thanks for reading!  Pollinator Week continues tomorrow...and to view all entries thus far, click HERE

Four other photos on Flickr, Starting HERE - two butterflies, a dragon and an interesting moth.

xo
Debbi