Gaillardia World: Spiders

 It seemed to me that spider numbers were down this year.   I saw only a few spiders on Gaillardia pulchella, June-October, despite the constant presence of visiting insects.   A caveat:  Spiders are good at camouflage, so I certainly missed seeing some spiders.

Among the spiders I did see were Crab Spiders (Family Thomisidae): 

A crab spider (Misumenoides formosipes)

stages on Gaillardia, July 4, 2022. Many thanks to

entomologist Dick Beeman for the ID.

Here she holds a leaf-cutter bee in the genus Megachile.  

Note that the bee's abdomen is yellow with pollen, transported by 

this genus on the underbelly, rather than on the hind legs.  

However, this pollen's trip to the bee's nest  has turned into 

a dead-end.  July 4, 2022.

Perhaps the Megachile was a filling meal and now 

the spider feels it's time for a nap.   Here she is, on

Gaillardia in our front yard,

relaxing upside down in the sun.  July 4, 2022

A similar spider appeared on Gaillardia by the barn, also on July 4, 2022.  She had to hang on in the wind:  

Later in July, a smaller spider appeared:

A small crab spider on Gaillardia by the barn, 

July 20, 2022.  

And on July 22, a crab spider put in a cameo appearance as I was videorecording Fungus Weevils:   

Here a crab spider reaches lazily toward the fungus weevils

that are busily foraging for pollen, while ants zip about, 

around and over the others.  July 22, 2022

It wasn't until October 7, 2022 that I saw another crab spider on Gaillardia, in fact two of them.    One was shy about having her picture taken.   Luckily, with an 8-legged creature it is hard to hide all the body parts:

Well camouflaged:

A closer view:

Hard to spot:

There she is!

Where is she now?

I see her!

A crab spider on Gaillardia pulchella, Oct. 7, 2022.  

The second crab spider sought a protected place to spend the night, as temperatures fell toward freezing at night.  

This series of photos shows her withdrawing into a nighttime retreat formed from ray flowers stuck together:  

 

 

October 7, 2022.

Good night, Spider!

The season closer, however, was not a crab spider, but a Spotted Orb Weaver.   This spider in the genus Neoscona (thank you, bugguide.net, for the ID) settled into the Gaillardia patch by the barn for several nights of web spinning.    

Here she is in her web:

And here she is at work:  

A Spotted Orb Weaver at work in Gaillardia, October 15, 2022.

But following multiple frosts, harder freezes were coming.    How long could she live?  What could she find to eat?  These questions added pathos to her activities.   They made her lovely markings and skillful movements part of a world-in-itself---a precious moment in which time stood still.    

Gaillardia World: Other Predators

There were other predators, apart from spiders, that came to Gaillardia pulchella, June-October 2022. 

 

These included Robber Flies, Damselflies, Dragonflies, and Lacewings.

Robber Flies (Family Asilidae) are impressive looking individuals:  

BugGuide.net identified this Robber Fly as a "Hanging-Thief,"

belonging to the genus Diogmites.

  (S)he is perched on a Gaillardia seedhead by the barn,  

August 1, 2022.  

Here is a video of this Hanging-Thief, missing a bee fly but then catching a damselfly:

Robber Fly hunting, August 1, 2022.

Damselflies also used Gaillardia pulchella as a hunting ground.  Here is a damselfly that tried it out briefly on July 16, 2022:

   

Maybe the hunting wasn't good or maybe there was a creepy feeling because this damselfly didn't stay long.  The sense of danger was well justified as two weeks later another damselfly ventured into the Gaillardia and was eaten by a Robber Fly.   

Dragonflies, Order Odonata, Infraorder Anisoptera, also hunted over and around Gaillardia.   Here are clips of male Widow Skimmers (Libellula luctuosa) frequenting the  native plant garden in our front yard: 

Male Widow Skimmers sport white patches mid-wing as they

patrol a patch of volunteer Gaillardia, July 4-5, 2022.

Perhaps tiny prey-insects swirled above the Gaillardia, as there were dragonflies zipping back and forth over the blossoms.   But whatever they were hunting was too small for me to see.   The most prominent dragonflies were male Widow Skimmers.

Toward the end of the season, Green Lacewings (Family Chrysopidae) appeared on the Gaillardia.

A Green Lacewing comes face to face with a tiny wasp on Gaillardia 

flowers, just going to seed.   It was unclear what was on the agenda of 

either creature, as their antennae explored each other.   Sept. 28, 2022. 

Lacewings, as the name suggests, are delicately beautiful.   The larvae feed on other insects, and some adults are predacious as well, while others eat pollen and nectar.  Green Lacewings are members of the family Chrysopidae.  

The lacewings that appeared on the Gaillardia by the barn this summer did not appear to be either hunting or foraging, at least while the camera was rolling.   Their antennae kept moving, taking in information:

Green Lacewings investigating Gaillardia, Sept. 25-28, 2022

Gaillardia World: A Promising Love Affair

  Gaillardia pulchella, Barn Patch, McDowell Creek, Geary Co.,  KS., 7-23-22:

Sachems (Atalopedes campestris) were increasingly common in the Gaillardia as the summer wore on.    These clips catch a female Sachem feeding on the nectar-rich Gaillardia, while a male comes to court her.   In case sidling up to her and performing aerial acrobatics doesn't convince her he's The One, he also dazzles--or drizzles--her with pheromones, which he spreads as he flies.

Gaillardia World: A Doomed Love Affair

Here in the midst of nectar-rich Gaillardia pulchella, a female Silvery Checkerspot attracted a male Gorgone Checkerspot. The attraction was mutual but was doomed by mismatched body plans.

Gaillardia pulchella, Barn Patch, McDowell Creek, Geary Co., Ks., July 27, 2022

Despite the lovers' vigor, there were to be no hybrids. In their sad case, anatomy was destiny.

Gaillardia World: Bees! The Most Important Pollinators

Bees are the world's most important pollinators, as unlike butterflies, they deliberately collect pollen to feed the next generation, and so reliably move pollen from plant to plant. Gaillardia pulchella is an annual, dependent on seed production and therefore pollination for self-perpetuation. Appropriately, Gaillardia produces prodigious amounts of pollen and nectar and therefore attracts many bees!

By attracting pollinators, the Gaillardia in our front yard and by our barn allowed me to identify multiple species of bee.

There were Bumble Bees (Family Apidae, Bombus spp.):

The American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus), June 18, 2022. Note the hefty bands of yellow hair on the abdomen. Note also the "pollen baskets" on the hind legs that are full of orange pollen. These are female "workers" charged with gathering pollen to feed to the larvae back in the nest:

Here is the American Bumble Bee in action (June 18, 2022):

American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus), June 18, 2022.

Common Eastern Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens), October 6-15, 2022. Note the greater furriness on the thorax, and the yellow band limited to just the first abdominal segment. Note also that the black spot in the center of the thorax is not completely black but sports yellow hairs.

Note also that these large bees have no pollen on their hind legs. There are no larvae needing to be fed back in the nest; that nest is done for the year. The workers and males have passed away. The bees shown here are likely the bred "queens," the only ones from this summer's colony still alive. They are feeding themselves now. They must bulk up to live through hibernation, to emerge next spring to find an appropriate burrow in which to lay their eggs--the start of next year's colony.

Here are Common Eastern Bumble Bees in action, October 6-15, 2022:

Southern Plains Bumble Bees (Bombus fraternus), October 15, 2022. These large bumble bees are on the International Union of Conservation of Nature's "Red List" (threatened with extinction). That's one reason we are so glad to see them drinking nectar from the Gaillardia. The tallgrass prairie here in the Flint Hills is one place where B. fraternus thrives. Here are some photos of this welcome bee:

And here is B. fraternus in action:

Southern Plains Bumble Bee, November 15, 2022

There were Leafcutter and Resin Bees (Megachile spp., Family Megachilidae):

At the beginning of July, Leafcutter Bees (Megachile spp.) were the most common bees on Gaillardia pulchella. The females collected pollen on their furry bellies, instead of on their hind legs, and the males of some species got all gussied up with large white mitts on their front legs. The "mitts" are not pollen-baskets but brushes deployed in mating.

There were species of Sweat Bee (Family Halictidae):

 

Metallic Sweat Bees (Lasioglossum, Subgenus Dialictus). These are tiny bees with muted colors, so they are often overlooked, and even when they are seen, they are hard to see clearly.

Lasioglossum, Subgenus Dialictus

Metallic Sweat Bee, October 4, 2022

Striped Sweat Bee (Agapostemon). These Sweat Bees are larger and easier to see:

Agapostemon, July 13, 2022.

Agapostemon in action:

This shiny individual came to sip and sup on the Gaillardia pulchella volunteering by our barn. (S)he is a Striped Sweat Bee, a member of the genus Agapostemon. The name means Lover-of-Stamens, and clearly (s)he is finding lots to love on this composite! McDowell Creek, Geary County, KS.,

July 13, 2022.

There were Eastern Carpenter Bees (Xylocopa virginica). These bees look like bumble bees but are in a different tribe as well as genus.

Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica), October 16, 2022

Gaillardia World: Flies! The Second Most Important Pollinators

Next to bees, flies are the most important pollinators.  So many kinds of flies came to  Gaillardia:

Flower Flies.   

Flower Flies (family Syrphidae) arrived in a variety of sizes and colors, but all of them looking like bees.  Syrphids are known as "bee-mimics"; their resemblance to stinging creatures may give them protection from predators.  They certainly fooled me when I first encountered them.  Now, despite their bee-act, I know to look for the "fly eyes"--which are larger and rounder than those of bees.  

Here is the lovely Syrphid Fly, Eristalis stipator, on our front-yard Gaillardias, on June 17, 2022:

Eristalis stipator is a common visitor to wildflowers in our prairie restorations.  

One month later, July 17, 2022, a Flower Fly of the same genus but a different species came to the Gaillardia.  It is E. aeneus. Check out those eyes!  

E. aeneus has eyes especially large, even for a fly.     

At the end of July, a Flower Fly I had never seen before came to sip on the Gaillardia.   It was Eupeodes volucris, aka Bird Hover Fly.  Many thanks to entomologist Betsy Betros for identifying this fly for me.   "Hover Fly" is another name for Flower Fly or Syrphid, referring to the Flower Flies' tendency to "hover" over flowers and zip forwards and backwards, just like bees, or--perhaps this is the source of the common name--just like hummingbirds.  

Here are some photos of the lovely Bird Hover Fly:

Bird Hover Fly feeding on the Gaillardia pulchella volunteering by our barn.

July 29, 2022

  And here is the Bird Hover Fly in action:  

Eupeodes volucris sips nectar from Gaillardia pulchella 

July 29, 2022.

At the beginning of August a tiny Hover Fly came to visit but not to eat.   This is Toxomerus politus, often mistaken for a sweat bee.  Here is T. politus sitting on a Gaillardia leaf, not going to the nectar-filled blossoms.  That's because T. politus specializes in grass pollen, not wildflower pollen.   Note how large the eyes are in proportion to the body.  Not a bee!

T. politus rests on a Gaillardia leaf on Aug. 4, 2022

This tiny Hover Fly is the opposite of shy.  At the beginning of September, while trying to take pictures of pollinators on Gaillardia, I often had T. politus sitting on my camera!  In the following photos, I am recording two shield bugs on Gaillardia, while T. politus keeps me company:

T. politus on Sony Handycam, September 3, 2022.

Robber Flies.  Robber Flies are amazingly speedy fliers and fierce predators.   They  are impressive also in their bold and elaborate body plan.   Here is a closeup of a Robber Fly in the genus Diogmites:

 A Robber Fly on a Gaillardia seedhead, August 3, 2022.

In the video below a Robber Fly patrols his hunting ground, taking off to catch a bee fly, but missing.  He has better luck with a Damsel Fly that has also chosen Gaillardia as his hunting ground but finds himself hunted instead.   "Diogmites" comes from the Greek word for "chasing" or "pursuing."  This genus is also called "Hanging Thieves" for their habit of hanging by two legs while consuming their prey.  

A Robber Fly (Diogmites sp.) hunting in a patch of Gaillardia 

and consuming a Damsel Fly, August 3, 2022.

Biting Midges.  For years, while watching larger pollinators, I have noticed tiny flies with thin oval wings also visiting flowers.  The same thing happened toward the end of the season with Gaillardia, and this time I was determined to learn who they were.  It was hard to get photos of creatures so small but this time I was able to photograph enough for experts to help me with ID.  Meet a member of the genus Atrichopogon, a member of the fly family Ceratopogonidae, the Biting Midges.   Female Biting Midges, like female mosquitoes, need a blood meal to reproduce, and are thus the "biters."   The males, however, feed exclusively on  nectar or other sugary material.  They are not biters--they must be sweet-talkers!

Here a Biting Midge is sipping nectar next  to a Fungus Weevil 

which is itself diminutive, not much bigger than 

a No. 2 pencil point.    That's how tiny this midge is!

 The long oval wings closed over the abdomen is a 

characteristic of this genus.  

 Tachinid Flies. Tachinids are parasitoids of other insects.   As adults they feed on nectar and pollen but as larvae they feed on other insects, eventually killing their hosts.  Here is a member of the Dexiini, a Tribe of the Family Tachinidae.   Females in this tribe lay eggs in the ground.  As the larvae hatch, they wander through the soil in search of beetle grubs to latch onto and eventually consume.  

This handsome Tachinid sips nectar 

from Gaillardia on June 18, 2022.

Crane Flies.  Infraorder Tipulomorpha (Crane Flies).  Possibly Limoniidae sp. (Large Crane Flies).

Crane Flies came to Gaillardia pulchella toward the end of the growing season. There are many species of Crane Fly, and they are ecologically beneficial, as their larvae decompose organic matter in soil or water. The adults in many of those species do not eat at all. They live only a few days, just long enough to mate and reproduce, with the females laying eggs in soil or water. However, the Crane Fly that is pictured here is not of a teetotaling species. This one is drinking nectar with a sewing-machine like motion. The "fly eyes" on a tiny head are striking, as are the long delicate legs with black "knees." Here is an adult Crane Fly enjoying an adult beverage:

A Crane Fly drinks nectar on October 6, 2022.