Wednesday, July 26, 2017

A welcome distraction

Seen on the pavement in the alley behind Pangaea where we were parasitizing the fast Internet on a hot Sunday afternoon.  I "tweaked" the photo a little so the bug would stand out against in pavement.  It's a longhorn beetle of which there are many species around these parts.  When this bug stood still, it was beautifully camouflaged against the dusty pavement and we couldn't see it unless we somehow made it move by waving our hands or creating wind with a computer case.  Reminded me of certain crabs and flounders that easily disappear visually against the beach sand.  Longhorn beetles are often blamed for forest destruction, but the fact is forests "taken over" by beetles are already stressed by human activities.  Otherwise, how did the trees and the beetles manage to get along together for millions of years before we came along?  We need to ask that question more often about lots of forest plants and creatures, such as the wolves in this morning's local paper.  We are lucky to have at least one family of wolves in Plumas County.  I hope I get to see them.

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