Lingering pollinators, a result of the mild fall weather, visit the last of the garden flowers on November 3rd. While all have left larvae, pupae, or eggs that will overwinter and become adults next spring, the lives of some of these insects will end with the onset of freezing weather.*
 A flower fly (Eristalis transversa) with Apple Leaf Skeletonizer Moth (Choreutis pariana).  A sweat bee (Agapostemon virescens) * Only mated females survive the winter.  The hairs on the body of this fly point to a tachinid species, Euclytia flava. Tachinids are internal parisitoids of other insects, the females often laying eggs directly on the host insect. |  A sweat bee of the Augochlorini tribe. These metallic green pollinators, difficult to identify in the field, also feed on the honeydew secreted by aphids in warmer months.  American Hover Fly (Eupeodes americanus) Although not studied as much as bees, fly family pollinators are thought to be equally important. While bees may be able to carry a greater volume of pollen on their bodies, flies may compensate for this by making a greater number of flower visits. * Some hoverflies are able to overwinter as adults.  Two-spotted Bumblebee (Bombus bimaculatus) and potter (or mason) wasp (Parancistrocerus perennis). |