📜 EwA Week Highlights: A Mimic for Everything, From Hornets to Lichen

[Mike McGlathery]

EwA Highlights July 28, 2025 Hello everyone,  Thanks for reading the July 28th EwA highlights. 📸 Many interesting species were seen at last week’s Cambridge Moth Ball. One of those was the wonderfully-named green marvel (Acronicta fallax), a moth that has evolved an interesting type of mimicry: the pattern on its wings resembles lichen! EwA iNaturalist Record (© kdemary · Cambridge, MA · July 23, 2025) Kat observed another interesting insect mimic this week in the bald-faced hornet fly (Spilomyia fusca). This fly closely mimics the markings of the bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata). If I were to pose as a New England insect in order to scare humans away, I think I’d probably mimic a bald-faced hornet too. This is the first time since 2019 that one of naturalists has observed this species! EwA iNaturalist Record (© Kathleen R Shea · Woodstock, CT · July 23, 2025)  A different bumblebee was our most-observed this week: the common Eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens). This is EwA’s most-observed species of all time, and for good reason: they are incredibly common native pollinators. I love this picture from Jennifer of one foraging on some goldenrod. EwA iNaturalist Record (© Jennifer Clifford · Somerville, MA · July 22, 2025)  📊 Thanks to everyone for your great biodiversity records this week, totaling 1,606 observations of 750 distinct species. If you’re curious about the records from this week that have been validated by the iNat community so far, you can find them » here. 🏆 Running tally: To date, we have recorded 247,640 observations of 12,906 distinct species! Check out our EwA umbrella project, see the details per site/observer, and more » here. 📅 EwA Upcoming Public Events Ewa Field Events » Check the EwA Summer [ Event details and registration » ] Don’t miss some great opportunities to follow the rhythm of the season in our local habitats and in the local wildlife! Space is limited for all our field events. Wildlife ethics is important to us and we seek to avoid putting the pressure on natural habitats which large gatherings unavoidably do. We are asking our audience to register-and-commit (or cancel when you know you can’t come) to avoid no-shows. EwA Fieldwork (and Resources) It’s a great time to join our monitoring programs. Check EwA’s Volunteer Program Calendar 📅  to know when things happen. And if a session is of interest to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to get the rendezvous location. 📅 EwA Sites Map | 🌱 Site Protocols and Guides · Field Rosters · Field Notes » All here! | ℹ️ More about EwA’s Citizen Science Program » Here ❓ Do you have any questions? Don’t be shy. Just email me or reply to this thread.  That’s all for this week—hope you have a good one! -Mike