BEETLE ON A BANANA
In my kitchen this past Wednesday afternoon (June 24th), I was putting a banana away, and in the process, I
had shifted about three medium-large bananas. Moments after having moved the bananas, I heard a faint
squeaking noise -- a sort of scritching sound -- coming from the bananas, which was totally unfamiliar
to my ears. Upon closer examination, I could see a long antenna waving about from beneath one
of the bananas. At first, I thought it was one of our dreaded tree roaches, which sneak into
the house in search of stray crumbs, cat food, and other edibles. Instead, I uncovered
this longhorned beetle, which clung to the banana and allowed me to take
numerous photographs utilizing the macro setting on my camera.
(Scroll down for some more photos of this ancient-looking creature)
LONGHORN
After having done some online research, I have discovered that this creature is called
the Ivory-marked Longhorn beetle (Eburia quadrigeminata).. Judging by its burnt
orange coloring, it must be a Texas Longhorn -- and it's also a wood-boring pest!
(Scroll down for a couple of companion insect photos)
CICADA SHELL
As I was watering the rose bushes in my front yard, I noticed this cicada's
exoskeleton. After I went to the back yard to water some more plants, I noticed
the scene depicted in the upcoming photograph. Be forewarned, it is not a pretty sight!
(Scroll down for one last, somewhat disturbing image.)
TRAGIC ENDING
While I can't say this with any certainty, this appears to be a cicada that is being
devoured by ants before it had the chance to emerge from its exoskeleton.
