Common insects
Physical description
- Tachytes wasps have large eyes in comparison to the rest of their head. Their eyes are commonly green in color. The shape of the body can give an almost bee or fly like appearance.
Biology
- Tachytes wasps are solitary wasps, meaning they do not live in a colony or hive like other social insects. As adults they commonly feed on pollen. Adults will capture prey like grasshoppers, paralyze them and haul them back to holes dug in the ground. Holes can commonly be found in garden or flower beds. These holes will be sealed off with an egg inside. The egg will hatch and larvae will feed on the grasshopper inside and later pupate and emerge as an adult.
Threat
- These wasps are not significantly harmful to humans and are not known to be aggressive. They will more likely run away than try to sting a person. They are solitary so they do not work in groups like paper wasps or bees for example. These insects should not be of concern to humans in general unless insect allergies are involved. It is not recommended to destroy or disturb the holes since they are beneficial to humans. Even if mounds are destroyed Tachytes wasps may come back the next year.
Management
- Not recommended. These can be helpful by hunting insects like grasshoppers that may feed on crops or garden plants. They are also pollinators. Destroying their holes could remove part of the population, but this is not recommended since they are beneficial. Disturbing ground wasp holes if misidentified could even if mounds are destroyed, mounds may come back the next year.
Tachytes wasps are solitary wasps, meaning they do not live in a colony or hive like other social insects.
A Tachytes Wasp hole, they can commonly be found in the garden or flower beds.
Physical description
- Springtails tiny wingless relatives of insects that are roughly the size of a pin head, 1-5 mm in length.
Biology
- Springtails get their name from their ability to launch themselves like a spring. This behavior can be seen when disturbed. These organisms typically feed on dead organic material such as fungi, plants or animal remains. Most need to live moist areas such as under rotting leaves.
Threat
- In most cases springtails should not be considered a threat due to the fact that they feed mostly on decaying organic materials. On rare occasions they can cause minor harm to young plants, but not enough to warrant serious concern. They do not bite and at most could be considered a nuisance. They are mostly beneficial by breaking down waste in the soil so it can be used by plants and other organisms.
Management
- For the most part management is not necessary, but springtails are seen as a nuisance then moisture reduction is one of the best methods of management due to their sensitivity to dry environments. If they are a nuisance in the home then finding ways to keep them out can also be effective. Pesticides should not be necessary.