Yesterday afternoon as I was driving home I came across a good sized patch of Leavenworth’s tickseed flowers growing. They are all over the place right now and I had been looking for a thick patch to get a photo I had in my mind. When I stopped and got out to set up the shot as I saw it in my head, I noticed that the flowers were filled with all sorts of pollinators. I took several shots trying to get the image I had in my mind, but wasn’t really as successful as I would have liked (I got a couple of decent photos, but not the one I had in my mind). I decided to also take advantage of all the pollinators as subjects since I was already there (and I love photographing insects). One of the first ones I saw was this Ammophila wasp (Ammophila pectipennis). They are a smaller type of thread waisted wasp.

These wasps are relatively uncommon, so I’m always pleased to see one. I had never seen one before April, but I have seen quite a few of them this summer, especially on the tickseed flowers. These wasps are very docile, and this one was really involved in its feeding so it turned out to be a great subject. I followed it around from flower to flower for several minutes and it completely ignored me. I love the interesting look of their long narrow waists and the way that waist is emphasized by the pretty orangish yellow spots.