northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's another Brown-belted Bumblebee I met last spring. About a decade and a half ago DreamWorks put out a Kung Fu Panda movie; is it time for a Kung Fu Bumblebee movie [1]? And if so, I'd imagine that our own Brown-belted Bumblebee would be a natural for the titular hero who "floats like a butterfly, stings like a bumblebee ". And I'd imagine the Asian Giant Hornet (aka "murder hornet") would be a more than reasonable villain.  Another choice might be a similar bumblebee that just barely includes New Jersey in its range, the Red-belted Bumblebee . Although it doesn't sound like every variety of martial arts recognizes a red belt, apparently kung fu does , where it's considered slightly higher than a brown belt [2]. Regardless of the bumblebee chosen, the star would probably be female since male bumblebees can't sting. I suppose the movie could be about a male bumblebee who, lacking the ability to sting, learns martial arts, but if you...

Here's someone I haven't posted about [1], an invasive insect called the European Hornet . If you're into wasps, these gals - as eusocial insects , probably every one I've ever seen was a female - are cool to look at. The rich blackish-red on most of the front of the abdomen contrasts well with the golden-yellow at the back, and they're actually big enough for you to actually see this without lens. Of course, if you've been stung, you might classify them as scary rather than good looking [2]. They are thought to have been introduced to the US (presumably accidentally) in the 1840s, and over the last 180 years they've spread throughout most of the eastern US. And they're probably not done spreading. Did you know that North America has zero native hornets? Anything you see over here named "hornet" is either: Invasive, like the European Hornet. Slightly misnamed, like the Bald-faced Hornet , which is actually an aerial yellowjacket. (Admittedly th...