u/stringTrimmer

It was a blissful summer day. Monarchs floating thru the air. A black and gold bumble be (Bombus auricomus) and a flying shrimp (Hemaris thysbe or Hummingbird clearwing moth as some call them) were peacefully sharing a thistle flower head. The shrimp then moves on to a lower flower head on the thistle. When all of a sudden, from upper left, another smaller flying insect appears. With incredible speed, the mystery insect makes a beeline (😜) for the shrimp and KO's the unsuspecting nectar-enjoyer, sending it head over shrimp-tail backwards off the flower. It then somehow ricochets off the shrimp and back up to harass its bumble bee friend.

How in the immutable laws of physics was this possible? Who was the tiny attacking insect and was there a 2nd attacker hiding in grassy knoll?

Here is a recreation of the events performed by live actors to help clarify the facts of the case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBz3PqA2Fmc

Seriously, I often see something that seems like a smallish bee or fly zipping all around harassing larger pollinators (like swallowtails, large bumble bees and clearwing moths) to the point of temporarily driving them off the flower. In the slowed down video it looks like a small type of bumble bee. Anyone know of one that does not like to share?

Bombus auricomus (I think?)

Photo Attribution: Photo 704836337, (c) rdiamondz @ www.inaturalist.org, some rights reserved CC BY-NC, taken on Jul 25, 2026 1:48 PM EDT

A reaction post.

Original r/lawncare post.

Earlier shenanigans r/NativePlantCirclejerk

Pro Tips:

1. Make sure to break up all that compacted crust so you get good seed-to-soil contact.

2. Don't get lazy and skip that second pass; it's critical! Or else, as shown in the animation, invasives like Phragmites australis subsp. australis will return.

3. There will always be some collateral damage, but you can't make an omelet..yada yada

/uj credit original simulation

[ checks the back of the packet ]

Damn it! No patents, just the regular native shit 😒

/uj Sorry for the blurry poor quality photos; I was just so excited I couldn't hold still enough for my shitty Moto G to focus.

/uj Parthenocissus tricuspidata (native to east asia)

Also, I was munching wood sorrel the whole time, now my kidneys hurt 😟

#NativesIsForTheBirds

Circled the areas of concern. Previous owner clearly didn't maintain the yard, it's practically devoid of all life. Just looking for IDs and dispatch methods, thx

A. phthalates in plug containers triggering hormone changes

B. American diet (soil too rich, not what natives evolved with)

C. unrealistic beauty standards perpetuated by cultivars

D. social media stress (afraid to be judged by r/NativePlantCirclejerk)

/uj for the serious answers which are interesting too, see the original post

Last night during the storm I heard a blood-curdling phloem-girdling sound in the backyard. I rushed outside to see what it was. My eyes caught a flash of emerald green, and then I saw my ash tree laying dead and naked on the ground. I'd never seen it without its bark. Look at that full body tattoo! Was my tree a member of the Yakuza? Was this a rival gang hit? Can anyone make sense of the tattoos, I can't read Japanese? Do I need to go into hiding? 🪲

Groundskeeper Willie (who maintains the land around Springfield Elementary K thru 8) walks into a Homer Depot and says to the underpaid shelf-stocker refilling a rack with green plastic string in the weed-eater aisle, "Principal Skinner demands I get rid of all the Onopordum acanthium ^([incidentally seeded by Willie when he shook out his kilt there]) that's taken over the playground before next years leettle tikes come to visit the school and meet their teachers next week. Says it's "invasive", hurts the kids tootsies. The woosses! When I was a wee lad we used it as bedding. But alas, what ave ya got that'll keell the flora of my homeland quickly but still be gentle on these brats senseetive bottoms?". The shelf-stocker responds, "You want Aisle 300 - Herbicides, left at the fake grass. If you hit a flamingo, you've gone too far. Then look for Kindergarten Roundup®. 🥁🥢💽