I had a lot of interesting bugs to choose from this week.
The winner was this tiny, orange-winged dragonfly. It is only about an inch long.
It is a Mexican amberwing, Perithemis intensa.
This one was hovering in the air and then darting away.
It was hovering over a manmade waterfall.
Maybe someday soon I’ll get to go back and get a photograph of one sitting still.
Do you have amberwings where you live?
Grasshoppers are moving in Arizona right now.
One of the most common species is the native pallid-winged grasshopper, Trimerotropis pallidipennis.
It can be difficult to identify grasshoppers because members of a single species vary a lot in color. The two grasshoppers in the photographs are within a few feet of each other, but notice how much darker the top one’s wing bands are (it isn’t just the lighting). Grasshoppers often blend into the background so well that you don’t see them until they jump and fly.
Pallid grasshoppers feed on desert grasses and when the grasses dry up, they move or “disperse” to areas with more food. According to this article, pallid grasshoppers have been found flying at altitudes of 3000-5000 feet for long distances. In one record in 1966 pallid grasshoppers from the western United States were found in Hawaii. That’s a long flight!
Are grasshoppers still active where you live? What colors do you see?
Today’s beetle has a name longer than it is: the Western Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Diabrotica undecimpunctata undecimpunctata.
This particular subspecies is only found in Arizona, California, and Oregon.
The scientific name undecimpunctata refers to the Latin for “11 spots.” As my husband pointed out, this one looks more like it has 12 spots.
Does anyone recognize the flower?
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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