A Pleasant Desert

"It was all so far away - there was quiet and an untouched feel to the country and I could work as I pleased."

       - Georgia O'Keefe

Terlingua Sunset 051313 

 An entomologist from A&M Agrolife Extension sent me an email in regards to my inquiry as to the identification of the below beetle. Epicauta atrivittata may be the species of blister beetle in my photo below. An individual in a macro photography forum I'm a member of wanted a better photo of the beetle for identification. This little beauty was waiting for me on the front door stairs when I arrived home tonight. He is also posing on a crystal encrusted rock that we have on the stairs. The beetle was attempting to fly away and kept flying into the wall of the house. I had to act fast so I reached into my camera bag on my shoulder and took this. It flew off about a minute later.

I'm not normally an insect person, at least I don't consider myself having an interest in insects, however, I have found some very interesting insects since I have been living here. Yesterday I was perusing a website for insect identification for beetles. I came across a beetle named, Darkling Beetle. I love the name and it's a beetle that I recognize from being here in the Big Bend area. I didn't know what it was called so I just recognized it and thought it quite comical. When ever I approach the dark black beetle it always stops and sticks it's butt into the air. I now know it's called the Darkling Beetle. Sounds like something from Harry Potter or a character from Tolkien.

Striped Blister Beetle (Epicauta atrivittata)- Far West Texas, Terlingua

I absolutely forgot to tell you about the beetle I found a couple of months ago. I examined my previous posts and I realized I did not post this beetle. It's also a blister beetle. When I first saw this I was on the ground and taking a photo of a flower and I saw this one rapidly crawling past. My camera was already situated for the flower and I did not want to disturb my shot. I was so disappointed that I could not take a photo of it. I had never seen it before and thought that I would never see it again. Well, Raoul and I were out shooting photos of flowers about a couple of weeks later and BAM! It appeared right in front of us. I ran over there, emptied a plastic container I had with me and captured it for a more closer photo later. Once we returned to the house, I placed the container on the table (it had also calmed down somewhat which made it easier for photos. We let if go after getting our photos. I was so glad that we could get photos. It reminds me of jeweled brooches that women wear. When the sun hit it just right, the shell had this wonderful iridescence.

Black Bladder-Bodied Meloid (Cysteodemus wislizeni)

 Someone at the office received these flowers and they were beautiful. I couldn't resist taking close up photos of them.

Tulips

Iris Blooms

Have a great day.

Charlton