Wild Parsnip Pastinaca sativa (Fr. Panais cultivé) grows everywhere in the Loire Valley and is very attractive to a range of nectaring insects. These photos were taken in our garden and orchard.
Cheilosia sp hover fly.
Tapered Drone Fly Eristalis pertinax (Fr. L'éristale opiniâtre).
Mediterranean Striped Bug Graphosoma italicum (Fr. Punaise arlequin).
The longhorn beetle Phytoecia icterica mating. Wild Parsnip is their larval host plant.
A parasitic tachinid fly.
Female European Paper Wasp Polistes cf dominula.
The very large Hornet Mimic hover fly Volucella zonaria (Fr. la Volucelle zonée), a female.
An ichneumon.
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We are also on Instagram, so check us out to see a regularly updated selection of our very best photos.
2 comments:
Such fantastic photos. I'd never heard of wild parsnip before so I checked to see if grew in North America. It certainly does apparently and is considered invasive in many of the northern states...even mentioned as being "poisonous" because of the skin rash it can cause when touched on sunny days.
It certainly can give you horrendous burns if you are weeding and don't know to be careful of it. I nearly always have one or two healing scars from it.
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