Abuzz with Bugs

I wanted to get a pic of this blister beetle on my milkweed plant, and noticed afterwards that there were AT LEAST 11 insects busy on it at the same time! Phenomenal and impressive!

Include a few natives in your garden to help our pollinators ...

Metallic Beauty

Condylostylus:

Metallic magnificence -

The long-legged fly.

Red Sac

I thought I was photographing a bright red fungus on this decomposing oak leaf, but was amazed to discover that it is in fact the egg sac of a spider in the genus Phrurotimpus! They're also known as ant mimic or guardstone spiders.

It's quite striking, and looks a lot like a limpet. Mom was nowhere to be seen.

Scorpionfly

 

This unusual looking fly with a long beak for mouthparts is called the scorpionfly (Panorpa communis), not because it stings (it's completely harmless), but because the male has a posterior protrusion that resembles a scorpion tail, the orange convolution of which is vaguely visible between its wings.

Apparently the male clasps the female on his back so his appendage can curl up and into her ovipositor for fertilization.

Their elongated mouthparts enable them to feed on fresh decaying plant and animal matter. Forensic entomologists know that if scorpionflies are present on a cadaver, it's still relatively fresh, 1-2 days old.