There are thousands of different species of insects in Costa Rica and I have no idea what this one is that I caught the other day in my garden on a Plumbago flower (Most insects don’t land on it because it is sticky and they can get stuck!). AND he appears to have little yellow shin pads or knee pads. Hmmm? Every day in Costa Rica nature there is a new discovery! 🙂
I will put him in my Unidentified Insects GALLERY where there are 34 species now with some much more colorful and interesting. Please contact me if you can identify any of them!
🙂
¡Pura Vida!
That’s one of the species of tiny stingless bees – adorable.
Thanks Margaret! I will move him from my “Unidentified” Gallery to my “Bees” gallery which you can see at: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/OTHER-WILDLIFE/INSECTS/Bees-Abejas/
Note that in my “Other Insects” galleries I also have what my guide at Curi-Cancha Reserve, Monteverde, identified as a “Stingless Wasp” which looks a little similar: https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/OTHER-WILDLIFE/INSECTS/Wasp-Stingless-Wasp/
Do you think that the knee pads could actually be pollen collected that they take back to the hive? I have seen that they put the pollen on their legs.
That is certainly possible! Though when I enlarge the photo, it looks solid. Nature is always intriguing. 🙂