Bruce Congdon
@generousgarden.bsky.social
Retired professor interested in entomology and ecology. Avid gardener. Actively hopeful about the future.
I can’t help but share this photo of #clouds I took this morning. No AI or Photoshop, just amazing #sky. #weather #meteorology
November 24, 2025 at 4:09 AM
I can’t help but share this photo of #clouds I took this morning. No AI or Photoshop, just amazing #sky. #weather #meteorology
November 22, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Headed toward late summer and the yellow-faced #bumblebees are busy on my Echinacea. See her tongue seeking deep in the flower for nectar and all the pollen on her legs? The other bumble bees have all but disappeared. May they find safety and return next Spring!
#bugsky
#nature
#garden
🌱
🪲
#bugsky
#nature
#garden
🌱
🪲
August 17, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Headed toward late summer and the yellow-faced #bumblebees are busy on my Echinacea. See her tongue seeking deep in the flower for nectar and all the pollen on her legs? The other bumble bees have all but disappeared. May they find safety and return next Spring!
#bugsky
#nature
#garden
🌱
🪲
#bugsky
#nature
#garden
🌱
🪲
This hover #fly, Myathropa, visited my yarrow today. Apparently the larvae live in decaying plant material, so this pic could belong in #simplecompost.bsky.social,
#learndirt,
#bugsky,
#gardens,
or #insects
🪲🌱
#learndirt,
#bugsky,
#gardens,
or #insects
🪲🌱
August 4, 2025 at 4:36 AM
This hover #fly, Myathropa, visited my yarrow today. Apparently the larvae live in decaying plant material, so this pic could belong in #simplecompost.bsky.social,
#learndirt,
#bugsky,
#gardens,
or #insects
🪲🌱
#learndirt,
#bugsky,
#gardens,
or #insects
🪲🌱
Two #wasps for #InsectThursday. A tiny parasitic wasp (Chalcidoidea) and a Great Golden Sand Digger (Sphex ichneumonoides). Both on goldenrod. The flowers give a sense of scale. #bugsky #garden 🌱 🪲
July 25, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Two #wasps for #InsectThursday. A tiny parasitic wasp (Chalcidoidea) and a Great Golden Sand Digger (Sphex ichneumonoides). Both on goldenrod. The flowers give a sense of scale. #bugsky #garden 🌱 🪲
For #InsectThursday a beautiful hover fly (Syrphidae:Lapposyrphus) arriving at cilantro blooms in my #Garden. What a lucky shot! 🌱 🪲 #bugsky #Syrphidae #Fly #learndirt When your cilantro bolts, let it!
July 17, 2025 at 4:35 PM
For #InsectThursday a beautiful hover fly (Syrphidae:Lapposyrphus) arriving at cilantro blooms in my #Garden. What a lucky shot! 🌱 🪲 #bugsky #Syrphidae #Fly #learndirt When your cilantro bolts, let it!
A poignant image of a mason #bee that died while provisioning her nest. When I found her I was inspired and a little sad.
#InsectThursday #bugsky 🪲 🌱
#InsectThursday #bugsky 🪲 🌱
July 17, 2025 at 4:26 PM
A poignant image of a mason #bee that died while provisioning her nest. When I found her I was inspired and a little sad.
#InsectThursday #bugsky 🪲 🌱
#InsectThursday #bugsky 🪲 🌱
#InsectThursday celebrated with this mining #bee (Andrena) carrying her load of pink pollen from the feral buckwheat in my #Garden #Pollinator
#bugsky
🪲🌱
#bugsky
🪲🌱
July 11, 2025 at 5:39 AM
#InsectThursday celebrated with this mining #bee (Andrena) carrying her load of pink pollen from the feral buckwheat in my #Garden #Pollinator
#bugsky
🪲🌱
#bugsky
🪲🌱
I have planted many flowers in my #garden to attract beneficial #insects (pollinators, predators, parasitoids). Most recent success was showy milkweed, shown here being visited by a braconid wasp hours after first blossom opened. #bugsky #learndirt 🪲 🌱
June 14, 2025 at 8:48 PM
I have planted many flowers in my #garden to attract beneficial #insects (pollinators, predators, parasitoids). Most recent success was showy milkweed, shown here being visited by a braconid wasp hours after first blossom opened. #bugsky #learndirt 🪲 🌱
#InsectThursday in the Generous Garden features this Snipe #Fly, family Rhagionidae. This one evidently has just emerged from the pupal stage spent in the #soil since its cuticle is in the process of becoming sclerotized and tanned (hardened). #bugsky 🪲 🌱 #learndirt
June 12, 2025 at 5:09 PM
#InsectThursday in the Generous Garden features this Snipe #Fly, family Rhagionidae. This one evidently has just emerged from the pupal stage spent in the #soil since its cuticle is in the process of becoming sclerotized and tanned (hardened). #bugsky 🪲 🌱 #learndirt
Here is a beautiful little cuckoo #wasp (Chrysididae) I would not have seen except that it drowned in the bird bath. “Cuckoo” because they are nest parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other wasps or bees so their larvae can steal the food intended for their host. #bugsky 🪲 🌱
June 8, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Happy #InsectThursday! BeeMachine (great app, in case you haven’t discovered it) is certain this mining #bee is Andrena milwaukeensis. This is the first time I’ve seen it in my garden. Here it is visiting meadowfoam (Limnanthes), which attracts many different bees. #bugsky 🌱 🪲
May 30, 2025 at 3:07 AM
Happy #InsectThursday! BeeMachine (great app, in case you haven’t discovered it) is certain this mining #bee is Andrena milwaukeensis. This is the first time I’ve seen it in my garden. Here it is visiting meadowfoam (Limnanthes), which attracts many different bees. #bugsky 🌱 🪲
So quick to get back underground, ground #beetle larvae are difficult to #photograph. This is the best I’ve managed so far. But I love having them in the #garden eating slugs and root maggots! #bugsky 🪲🌱
May 10, 2025 at 4:23 PM
So quick to get back underground, ground #beetle larvae are difficult to #photograph. This is the best I’ve managed so far. But I love having them in the #garden eating slugs and root maggots! #bugsky 🪲🌱
On this #InsectThursday I couldn’t decide whether to be sad or happy. I love crab spiders and #honeybees and blueberries. This crab #spider hid on a blueberry blossom and ambushed this honeybee. See the tiny drop of venom on the sting? Ah the drama in the #garden! #bugsky 🪲🌱
May 9, 2025 at 3:55 AM
On this #InsectThursday I couldn’t decide whether to be sad or happy. I love crab spiders and #honeybees and blueberries. This crab #spider hid on a blueberry blossom and ambushed this honeybee. See the tiny drop of venom on the sting? Ah the drama in the #garden! #bugsky 🪲🌱
#InsectThursday Western Conifer Seed Bug poked his head out. #bugsky 🪲🌱
May 8, 2025 at 2:35 PM
#InsectThursday Western Conifer Seed Bug poked his head out. #bugsky 🪲🌱
#InsectThursday one day late. I found this tiny rove #beetle on the brim of my hat when I stopped weeding and transplanting onion sets to eat lunch. I hope he was eating the onion maggots that are thinning out my onions!
🪲 🌱 #bugsky #learndirt
🪲 🌱 #bugsky #learndirt
May 2, 2025 at 8:21 PM
#InsectThursday one day late. I found this tiny rove #beetle on the brim of my hat when I stopped weeding and transplanting onion sets to eat lunch. I hope he was eating the onion maggots that are thinning out my onions!
🪲 🌱 #bugsky #learndirt
🪲 🌱 #bugsky #learndirt
On a road trip, stopped in #WallaceIdaho and saw this beautiful #stonefly on a wall (not far from the stream that runs through town). 🪲 #bugsky
April 25, 2025 at 3:31 PM
On a road trip, stopped in #WallaceIdaho and saw this beautiful #stonefly on a wall (not far from the stream that runs through town). 🪲 #bugsky
#InsectThursday in my garden features this click beetle. Not much to look at, and her babies sometimes eat the roots of my lettuce plants. But she still belongs here! #bugsky #learndirt
🌱 🪲
🌱 🪲
April 24, 2025 at 9:23 PM
#InsectThursday in my garden features this click beetle. Not much to look at, and her babies sometimes eat the roots of my lettuce plants. But she still belongs here! #bugsky #learndirt
🌱 🪲
🌱 🪲
After a long winter, this California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica), worn thin but undaunted, came to visit the heather in my #garden. If you are feeling like this #butterfly looks, take #courage!
#bugsky #InsectThursday one day late 🌱 🪲
#bugsky #InsectThursday one day late 🌱 🪲
April 18, 2025 at 7:31 PM
After a long winter, this California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica), worn thin but undaunted, came to visit the heather in my #garden. If you are feeling like this #butterfly looks, take #courage!
#bugsky #InsectThursday one day late 🌱 🪲
#bugsky #InsectThursday one day late 🌱 🪲
I caught this sweat #bee (Lasioglossum) “stealing” nectar from a kale flower by chewing a hole in the base of the corolla. Happy #InsectThursday!
#bugsky #entomology
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#bugsky #entomology
🌱 🪲
April 10, 2025 at 4:22 PM
I caught this sweat #bee (Lasioglossum) “stealing” nectar from a kale flower by chewing a hole in the base of the corolla. Happy #InsectThursday!
#bugsky #entomology
🌱 🪲
#bugsky #entomology
🌱 🪲
April 3, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Anthophora! Digger #bees are another welcome sign of Spring! This one was inspecting blooms on overwintered kale.
#bugsky #learndirt #insects
🌱🪲
#bugsky #learndirt #insects
🌱🪲
April 2, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Anthophora! Digger #bees are another welcome sign of Spring! This one was inspecting blooms on overwintered kale.
#bugsky #learndirt #insects
🌱🪲
#bugsky #learndirt #insects
🌱🪲
This is Hylaeus, a small bee in the “cellophane bee” family. Her common name is yellow faced #bee. Our spring is still rather cold, but the kale and dandelions are blooming so the bees and sunny days should return soon.
#learndirt #garden #insect #pollinators 🌱🪲
#learndirt #garden #insect #pollinators 🌱🪲
March 30, 2025 at 3:22 AM
This is Hylaeus, a small bee in the “cellophane bee” family. Her common name is yellow faced #bee. Our spring is still rather cold, but the kale and dandelions are blooming so the bees and sunny days should return soon.
#learndirt #garden #insect #pollinators 🌱🪲
#learndirt #garden #insect #pollinators 🌱🪲