Crab Spider with Bee Fly prey on Sawtooth Goldenbush
This little Crab Spider (Thomisidae) has a Bee Fly (order Bombyliidae, Diptera) for prey on a flower of native Sawtooth Goldenbush (Hazardia squarrosa, Asteraceae). It's a pretty brutal scene. I believe the unfortunate fly is a Sinuous Bee Fly (Hemipenthes sinuosa, Villini) or kin. What's bad for the fly is good for the spider! The spiders are doing their job of picking off the last of the pollinators as the last flowers fade. Arachtober 27. (San Marcos Pass, 27 October 2016)
D'oh, I just noticed that my software settings have automagically changed and I've been saving at a much lower JPEG compression value than normal. No wonder my files are so small! I suppose I should go back and redo everything for the last two days (when it happened). Maybe a week from Tuesday. Flickr or our internet connection has been so pokey tonight that it's just as well I had smaller files to upload!
I do hope rain is coming. We've had some sprinkles this afternoon, and we have a 90% chance of real rain tonight. We're under a NWS Flash Flood Watch. The trees will be so happy!
Crab Spider with Bee Fly prey on Sawtooth Goldenbush
This little Crab Spider (Thomisidae) has a Bee Fly (order Bombyliidae, Diptera) for prey on a flower of native Sawtooth Goldenbush (Hazardia squarrosa, Asteraceae). It's a pretty brutal scene. I believe the unfortunate fly is a Sinuous Bee Fly (Hemipenthes sinuosa, Villini) or kin. What's bad for the fly is good for the spider! The spiders are doing their job of picking off the last of the pollinators as the last flowers fade. Arachtober 27. (San Marcos Pass, 27 October 2016)
D'oh, I just noticed that my software settings have automagically changed and I've been saving at a much lower JPEG compression value than normal. No wonder my files are so small! I suppose I should go back and redo everything for the last two days (when it happened). Maybe a week from Tuesday. Flickr or our internet connection has been so pokey tonight that it's just as well I had smaller files to upload!
I do hope rain is coming. We've had some sprinkles this afternoon, and we have a 90% chance of real rain tonight. We're under a NWS Flash Flood Watch. The trees will be so happy!