Just like NJ with more space
Barry M. Goldwater Range, February 2012
This time we saw good numbers of these beetles going (and flying) around.
According to this source
they are Red-eared Blister Beetles ( Lytta auriculata, family Meloidae).
The larvae are parasitic in the nests of ground nesting bees or other ground nesting insects. The tiny, first stage larvae are mobile and seek out a suitable host. Once they attach to a host they become immobile drawing sustenance as they grow."
photo: Hadas Parag
one rain-out shelter
some rain-out shelters
many rain-out shelters
Answer key below
clockwise from top left: Loggerhead Shrike, White-crowned Sparrow, Sage Sparrow, Black-throated Sparrow, Sage Trasher, Horned Lark, Say's Phoebe
San Gabriel Mountains - Oct. 15, 2011
Clark's Nutcracker feeding on Limber Pine seeds (Pinus flexilis)
Velvet Ant Dasymutilla cf. sackenii