Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: wasp

An update on my daughter who was in the hospital for a few days. She was allowed to go home three evenings ago, though the medical staff still aren't completely sure of the cause of the problem. She has a follow-up appointment in September, so hopefully she and we will know more at that time. Meanwhile, I feel totally drained, ha! A couple of days ago, on 25 August, 10 of us arrived at a friend's house, ready to go north of Calgary to near Sundre, for a few hours of botanizing, This was the second visit to Judy Osborne's for a few of us, me included. The previous trip was on 30 June 2015. By now, of course, a lot of the wildflowers are finished, but I found enough other things to photograph, including a distant, beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a Wood Frog and this Yellowjacket (wasp), plus a few of the plants in my friends' garden at the beginning and end of the day. No scenery shots, as the visibility was so bad due to the smoke. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_jacket Thanks so much, Judy, for having us out on your beautiful property again. It was a most enjoyable day, despite the dreadful, smoke-filled air (from forest fires burning in Washington State, northwest US). We look forward to being out there again next year! Many thanks, too, to Barry, who drove a few of us out there and back to Calgary. A long, long drive and it was much appreciated!

We saw a couple of these Yellow Jacket wasp nests when we were on a botanizing outing in Bragg Creek Natural Area two days ago. They were built at the base of two different trees. We all scattered when I announced that several wasps were flying away from the nest - thought immediately of friend Doug who received about 12 wasp stings recently! We were impressed with the scallop design that the wasps had created : ) Just managed to get a couple of quick shots before rapidly departing.

I don't yet know the ID of this small insect, but thought I'd post it in case anyone happens to know its name. I noticed it flying and landing repeatedly two days ago on a hike west of Longview, southern Alberta. The beautiful blue colour was what caught my attention : ) This is a zoomed, cropped image - was unable to get close to it : ) Later: thanks to Art (LeapFrog!) for the Great Black Wasp ID!

This wasp somehow got into my place and died. Thought I would photograph it before removing it. "Yellowjacket or yellow-jacket is the common name in North America for predatory wasps of the genera Vespula and Dolichovespula. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these are black-and-yellow; some are black-and-white (such as the bald-faced hornet, Dolichovespula maculata), while others may have the abdomen background color red instead of black. They can be identified by their distinctive markings, small size (similar to or slightly smaller or larger than a honey bee), their occurrence only in colonies, and a characteristic, rapid, side to side flight pattern prior to landing. They are often mistakenly called "bees". All females are capable of stinging, though they are also important predators of pest insects. So while dangerous, they are also beneficial. Due to yellowjackets' aggressive behavior, including stinging, many other insects exhibit mimicry, and bear superficial resemblance to them; in addition to numerous bees and wasps, the list includes some flies, moths, and beetles. Nests are made from wood fiber chewed into a paper-like pulp." From Wikipedia.

I like the crinkly look of Squash flowers and their brilliant colour. Only just noticed the wasp in the top right corner.