#Goldenrod Soldier Beetle

[vandaliatraveler]

Some folks follow the backcountry trails to the mountain laurel when it blooms in the spring. But my heart will always follow a path straight to the common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius), a fantastically beautiful native shrub in the Rose family that blooms in synch with mountain laurel in late May/early June. The plant produces masses of white flowers with orange centers and extravagantly-protruding stamens, reminiscent of those of our native Spiraeas, to which ninebark is closely related. This fast-growing shrub with spreading, arching branches gets its name from multiple layers of exfoliating bark, most apparent and striking when the plant sheds its beautiful, orange-yellow foliage in the fall. Finally, as you can see in the photos above, ninebark is a miraculous pollinator plant, drawing in hordes of bees, butterflies, and beetles, including the ever-gorgeous (and apparently horny) goldenrod soldier beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus).

Photos from the Deckers Creek Trail in Preston County.

[bytesizeambs]

Goldenrod Soldier Beetle | Ladybug | Tarnished Plant Bug #shorts #insects #bytesizeambs

Got 3 cute little bugs in a YouTube short today. A Goldenrod Soldier Beetle, a Ladybug and a Tarnished Plant Bug. There is also a Japanese Beetle but it is sort of hidden on the back of the Purple Passion Flower and doesn't move much.

[horsebeast]

goldenrod soldier beetle, Chauliognathus pensylvanicus

[alcnfr]

Common Eastern Bumble Bee on the Nandia...

Soldier Beetle on Magnolia Tree Bloom...

[kcdrummergirl]

An interesting time had by all…

Goldenrod soldier beetles & Japanese beetles

[woozymitts]

European Paper Wasp (Polistes dominula) ♂ Spotted Cucumber Beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus) Five-banded Thynnid Wasp (Myzinum quinquecinctum) Common Blue Mud-dauber Wasp (Chalybion californicum) Chrysidini sp. Four-banded Stink Bug Wasp (Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus) Megachile sp. Parallel-striped Sweat Bee (Halictus parallelus) Myzinum maculatum ♀ Archytas apicifer? Goldenrod Soldier Beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) Archytas apicifer? Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) ♀ Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) ♂ Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens) ♀ Lobed Mason Wasp (Ancistrocerus antilope) Narrow-headed Marsh Fly (Helophilus fasciatus) Hawthorn Mining Bee (Andrena crataegi)? Vespula Sp.

Foaming at the mouth at the absolute biodiversity in my yard this year! We have this bush in the yard that the wasps, bees and flies are obsessed with, which is where I took most of the pictures.

I also noticed these HUGE flies which I've never seen before. Usually if you even look in the general direction of a fly it immediately takes off but these ones could not care less, I could put my hand right up to them and they didn't move until I physically touched them.

Also once again completely baffled by the people who talk about how "aggressive" and "mean" wasps are and how they constantly get stung. What are you guys doing??? None of the above species gave a single shit about me shoving my macro lens in their faces, and if it was windy I would sometimes grab the branch they were on to hold it steady and none of them even reacted.

The queen bee (which has a stinger unlike the males) also made no effort to sting me, after picking her up for a photo she actually refused to get off of my hand because she wanted to sit on me and groom her face.

We've also had lots of yellowjackets (I'm so bad at IDing them so no idea on species) approaching us recently and checking us out, flying extremely close and looking at us and then flying away. Even if I put my hand up in front of them to see if they want to land they sort of just look at it and then fly away.

Last year there were paper wasps on nests in my yard and they would stare at me warily but never sting me when I photographed them.

Also feel free to ID things on my iNaturalist or correct me on any IDs here!

[these-godforsaken-halls]

passage from the neverland-inspired fairy au that i wrote for the au fest event. falsie with goldenrod soldier beetle wings, laying bricks and building bridges!

[knightobreath]

the favorite characters !! and a goldenrod soldier beetle. thats irrelevant

respectfully, please don't tag as ship!

[lizardsaredinosaurs]

My golden locks are fit for a fairy tale... and my prince—the soldier beetle. 😍

Short's Goldenrod (Solidago shortii)

Endemic to two small areas of Indiana and Kentucky

Status: federally Endangered

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[littlecrazymostlybug]

A Goldenrod Soldier Beetle!

[notjustbees]

Shoutout to @identifyingbeetles for identifying this lil' guy as a goldenrod soldier beetle!

[welldigger62]

Goldenrod is starting to get a pretty color this time of year.

Here is another visitor that likes it too. This insect is called a Goldenrod Soldier Beetle. If he is looking for lunch, he’s got plenty to pick from out there. Chomp away 😃

[transmascicada]

What if we were two goldenrod soldier beetles on a patch of goldenrod

[alcnfr]

Plants, flowers and even an insect on a rainy day...

[horsebeast]

goldenrod soldier beetle, Chauliognathus pensylvanicus

[dansnaturepictures]

13/08/2023-Shipton Bellinger and home

Photos taken in this set are of: 1. The White-point moth, another lovely moth to see at home this morning. 2. Common crimson-and-gold moth at Shipton Bellinger, an eyecatching species to see joining in a great surge in moth sightings for me especially this weekend. 3. Wall Brown, it was an honour to get to see these vibrant and energetic butterflies so well again after seeing our first of the year here two weeks ago. Today was one of our best ever days for seeing them with a fair few seen and top quality intimate views of them with wings open and closed they were widespread around here. It's funny to think I was worried as to if we'd see one this year after missing them at the coast where we often see them, this place is certainly a gem it's been a revelation for them, we first came here for Brown Hairstreak but Wall Brown is an important one here too. Unusually for Wall Brown I got great close up chances for photos today and it's a novelty seeing a species I mostly have at the coast inland, so even though this is one of the first butterflies I (retrospectively from a photo) ever identified early in butterfly days there feels something pleasingly fresh about seeing them here. 4. A Brown Hairstreak it was an honour to see again today, I spent some glee filled moments with this astonishing and angelic butterfly, what an honour to see them. I hadn't seen one of these until 2021 so there is a great freshness with these for me too and I feel very lucky to have had two visits here seeing these beautiful butterflies this year. 5, 7 and 8. Views at Shipton Bellinger. 6. One of a few bees I enjoyed caked in pollen on the bold woolly thistle flowers. 9. Some hawthorn berries on a tree. 10. Wild parsnip one I enjoyed a lot today, with interesting flies on.

At Shipton Bellinger it was also good to see Holly and Common Blue, Gatekeepers, Small Heath, Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, Peacock, ermine moth I believe Spindle ermine, ladybird, Common Red Soldier beetle, prominent mossy rose galls which I'm enjoying appearing of late, beautiful Roesel's bush cricket and my first ever Lesser Hornet hoverfly which is gorgeous. Magpie, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Great Tit and Blue Tit were nice to see too, with Collared Dove which I took a picture of somewhat photobombed by a flying House Sparrow which was interesting, Goldfinch including young and seen well and intimately in the garden whilst I had my hair cut there Starlings seeing House Sparrows in the buddleia then also home bird highlights today. My first Morning-glory Plume moth of the year was also nice to see at home with four-leaved pink sorrel and other flowers enjoyed in the garden. Other highlights of the many flowers enjoyed at Shipton Bellinger were my first soapwort and goldenrod of the year, some more mugwort this week, viper's-bugloss, eyebright, red bartsia, rosebay willowherb, centaury, common toadflax, loads of wild basil again, knapweed, scabious, herb-Robert, hedgerow crane's-bill and melilot. Another brilliant wild weekend.