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| Most of the park is now under water. The Santa Cruz River broke out its bed and is still feeding the new pond. I guess we'll have out very own Salton See soon. |
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| Butterflies are still very active and concentrate on the few plants that are still in bloom. Fatal Metalmark, Dainty Sulphur, Grass Skippers, Bordered Patch, Checkered Skipper, Pygmy Blue, Painted Lady, Western Whites |
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| I thought that these nymphs are Bird Grasshoppers Schistocerca sp., but most Bird Grasshoppers are adult and laying eggs by now. So maybe this is something else? |
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| Coleomegilla maculata (Spotted Lady Beetle) are often found feeding on pollen but they also seem to be drawn to fresh seeds of grasses and desert broom. I'm not sure if they actually feed on seeds though. |
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| Diabrotica undecimpunctata (Spotted Cucumber Beetle) All winter long these guys are active close to any body of water. |
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| Diabrotica balteata (Banded Cucumber Beetle). This species is relatively rare here. |
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| Condylostylus sp. Dolichopodidae (Longlegged Flie) with prey. These pretty flies were all over the velvety Dature leaves. |
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| Polistes aurifer, a lonely male that had not much energy left. Only the young queens will survive the winter |
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| There was also several rare bird sitings - these geese for example. But they were acting like a bonded pair even though they are two different species. These bonds often form in captivity, so I suspect that they escaped from a zoo |
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| The area where the river broke in |
What a beautiful array of beetles, particularly the cucumber ones. Makes ours look so boring but I guess I never really see them close up enough. Nice to see your sunshine.....it's SO dull and grey and drizzly here. x
ReplyDeleteYou really did get some impressive rains earlier in the year - this is more proof of it! We feel lucky to have gotten over an inch here last night. Not a bad insect array for November.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful insect photos! There's no reason to suspect the geese are escapees, Margarethe. There have been multiple of each species found in SE Arizona in the past few weeks, something that happens every year. Like many other birds (such as ducks, sparrows), geese naturally seek each other out and hang around together, irrespective of species. So this is normal behavior, especially for the only geese in town.
ReplyDeleteDid you mean "Salton Sea?" I know, picky picky picky. ;-)
ReplyDelete