Unsure of ID, distinct red abdomen, long stinger and antennae, otherwise black body
Red abdomen, otherwise black coloration
Not my best pictures, but still a really cool find!
White caterpillar with black dots
On a goldenrod (Solidago altissima) stem in a damp, sedgy clearing in young forest. The area might have been logged a decade or two ago.
A swimmer saved this gorgeous creature from the pool. He/she held onto my hand with scratchy desperation and eventually its wings dried enough so that it could fly off to the nearby trees.