Yesterday afternoon I headed up Boyle Ravine with my camera when a voice told me to head downtown instead. Within the first block of my walk, I saw a patch of tall Phlox growing in front of a friend's house. I paused to see if the flowers waving in the wind would be worth a couple of photos. I was about to give up on photography when one of my favorite beetles landed. The Common Checkered Clerid visits many different species of wild and domestic flowers, and this was the first one I'd seen this season. I had to time the pendulum motion of the flower and try to take my shot when the movement briefly ceased.
I took a few shots with my hand in the background to show the size of the insect. I'd say about 1/2 inch in length. These beetles can fly, but they are not nearly as skittish as butterflies. If you approach slowly, you can usually count on them staying put or crawling slowly for good photos.
The Skippers, on the other hand,. have that name for a reason. They are Lepidopterans, but not quite Butterflies and not quite Moths, at least according to most classification schemes. They don't stay put for long unless they are seriously focused on sipping nectar or mating. They flitter from flower to flower more or less constantly and are often taken to be moths. Soon I'll post some photos of Butterflies, Moths, and Skippers and point out the traits that distinguish them. Click on any of these photos for close-ups.
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