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#bugstodon

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Last evening I stumbled across this big splendid pair of grapevine beetles (_Pelidnota punctata_) on a grapevine- and bittersweet nightshade-covered stretch of fence by the tracks. I saw one that was flying around come to rest on the vines, and that was when I saw the second one hidden in the leaves!

They seemed to nose at each other's butts, made more laborious because they were on a vine really too flimsy to hold both of them. When one of them mounted the other and everted clasper-like organs I was certain they were going to mate, but after more awkward manoeuvring they went their separate ways. Still, what a serendipitous encounter.

BugGuide: bugguide.net/node/view/3139

it's #WeevilWednesday, here's _Acanthoscelidius acephalus_ which I find on evening primrose. I'm obsessed with how their faces look like "^|^" from a certain angle when they have their heads tucked in!!

*edit: corrected specific epithet to right grammatical gender, how embarrassing, never toot before coffee folks. I can't believe no one called me on this

ein fallkäfer auf dem blütenstand einer wiesen-witwenblume.
ob das jetzt ein Seidiger Fallkäfer Cryptocephalus sericeus ist oder ein Smaragd-Fallkäfer Cryptocephalus aureolus, das zu sagen ist das bild nicht ansatzweise gut genug, es ist auch mehr die blume das was scharf geworden ist

I know most people get grossed out by insects, and I do have a hard limit on certain types of bugs when they encroach upon my space (I am looking at you, brown recluse spiders), but the way I deal with #ants wandering inside is *not* by killing them.

I figure out where they are coming in, and then I place a literal honey trap right near that entry point. I fill a shallow receptacle with honey and water, and that bounty keeps them from venturing much further into the house. I also remove all temptation from the rest of the area that they are encroaching upon so that they are not wandering beyond my offering plate.

I love watching how they line up so neatly around globs of water to drink. They're so organized! Because of the shallow depth of the windowsill, I decided to use a canning jar lid as my receptacle this time, and it's working great.

I once brought a spider plant back into the house for the winter and apparently some ants had built a nest in it. I noticed them marching all the way across the living room floor to get to the cat food and water (which was on the floor in the kitchen at the time), so I found the point where the line originated (my plant), set out a small plate with water and honey on it, and spent a happy winter observing them until they decided to move back outside (which was before the plant moved back outside).

They're not doing any harm, really, and though I still have a few scouts roaming around beyond the kitchen sink window area right now, most of them are enjoying the honey water, which I refresh every other day or so.

Apologies if this grosses you out, but I kindly ask you to reconsider your relationship to nature if it does. You are a part of nature. Ants probably think you are gross, too!