Hanging on for dear life!

I spent a little more time in local ditches today, mostly looking for good examples of milkweeds going to seed.  I was quite surprised to find one last Red Milkweed Beetle, Tetraopes basalis, on a dried out milkweed on Chandler Road.  The plant looked too dry for successful egg laying, but you never know.  Maybe her job was done a week or two ago and she's just out exploring until fall weather moves in.  I still can't get used to having this beautiful bug in our midst.  As J. B. S. Haldane famously said, "God must have had an inordinate fondness for beetles."  It was actually a sarcastic answer to a question from a creationist, but it still captures the spirit of us who are captivated by beetles.