Lovely Beetles

Since I've been writing about beetles lately for my book-in-progress, I've needed to revisit my beetle photo files.  These are so bright and colorful, I thought I'd post them again in case you're having a problem with the damp, grey weather.  The top photo is of the Dimorphic Longhorn Beetle, Anastrangalia laetifica, of the Cerambycid family.  This is a female, nearly an inch long.  The males are solid black, thus the name dimorphic, and only half as big.
The bottom photo is of a Common Checkered Clerid, Trichodes ornatus, of the family Cleridae.  I've seen this species on dozens of different species of flowers.  I assume that it eats the pollen on all of them, but I am not sure.  They're reluctant to fly unless seriously disturbed or on a mission, so they are easy to photograph.  In both cases, when I encounter the flower-bug combination, my enthusiasm varies from excitement about the beetle to enjoying the details of the flower.  Also, there are times when I'm mostly motivated to take photos and other times I really want to write.  Thus, an essay-in-progress is titled On Relative Enthusiasms.