Bees

We have a bee that enjoys hovering over our deck for some reason. This one shows some of his face.

Bees

Here is a side view. And I apologize for the fuzziness, because the camera was trying to focus on the deck rather on the insect.

Bees

Here is a shot of one showing his rear end. I have tried looking these up, and my book shows that this one is very similar to the mining bee. The mining bee is found throughout North America. He looks very similar to the Woolley Bear Hover Fly except that he has a yellow tail. Check out the pics in my National Audubon Society Field Guide. I can't really figure out why he likes our deck; it would seem that he would like to hovering over flowers and do his pollenating.

Flying Ants?

We had quite a number of these ants with wings on our deck yesterday. We looked these up to make sure they weren't termites. Termites are pale or white and they don't have a "waist." So we are pretty sure these are some kind of ant with wings.

Cicada

This cicada seemed to like being on one of my shirts while it dried on th line while we were at the beach.

Butterfly

Can anyone name this butterfly? I have a book that tells me it could very well be a a Pearl Crescent. I took this pic last Monday in our back yard.