Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Late Night Research

I swear, the internet is spoiling me!  I posted this beetle, hiding in Deer Brush, yesterday without identifying it.  It looked a lot like the Red Milkweed Beetle except for the black head and thorax. In the case of the milkweed beetle, it's all red with black spots.  So, late last night I found it in my Callifornia insect guide.  It's the Dimorphic Flower Longhorn, Anastrangalia laetifica, a Cerambycid like the milkweed beetle.  I knew dimorphic means two forms, so I got curious and did a web search.  Wow!  Discovered some great photos of these beetles mating.  The males are solid black and have a most impressive means of becoming fathers.  Curious?

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