The shiny black, orange-spotted adults can approach two inches in
length. Offspring beg both parents for food, inducing regurgitation by
stroking their jaws like wolf pups. They’re federally endangered
American burying beetles, largest of the 31 species of North American
carrion beetles.
This is the first dragonfly I have ever photographed in my yard. I usually photograph blue dashers next to my sister’s North Carolina pond, not at my pondless Pennsylvania house. This one was small and had some sort of ulcer on one of its eyes, so maybe it was a little off course, although they are common near slow-moving fresh water in most of the US.
Bumble bee mimics have become a secondary fascination of mine as I study real bumble bees. These robber flies (Diptera: Asilidae) are fantastic mimics that go so far as to mimic color patterns of endemic species across their geographic distribution!
I wonder how many “bumblebees” I’ve seen have really been just very clever robber flies
PiraticOctopus 