Bug Ugly In Arizona
69May 2010
When it comes to ugly, there's plenty to admire in Arizona...whether the subject is politics, bugs of the sixlegged and/or FBI kind, or trails of trash left by thousands of illegal immigrants. On the latter topic, both Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and ex-Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin have firmly told the President, "Do your job! Secure the border!" Will he do his job, now that the ladies are on his case?
We'll get back to you on that one.
In the meantime, spring has sprung, Pam has shot her first snake ever, the new wind turbine has already broken in half, and we're eagerly watching the grounds to see this year's crop of ugly bugs. After all, we got the pleasure of observing a bumper crop last year....
The Whole Truth And Nothing But
Our apologies for not including any pictures of ants in this compilation from 2009. Those little guys are just plain freaking hard to see clearly when your only camera is a low-end digital with a viewscreen so dim in sunlight that you're lucky if you know when the bugger is on!
When we first arrived in Arizona in April of 2009, I thought I already knew something about bugs in general...at least the kinds of ugly bugs you find in more northerly states such as Montana and the Dakotas. I was wrong. I couldn't identify the velvet ant for a long time, or the mesquite girdler, or the thread-waisted wasp, or the wolf spider...and still have no clue what specific beetle sports that sheen of green (truly beautiful before the camera dulled it down).
Anyway, just in case you're thinking of joining us on the front lines in the Arizona Border War, we've done our best to provide you with an honest sampling of the bug-ugly, creepy-crawlie wildlife here in the southern end of Cochise County, about a mile from the Mexican border and comfortably surrounded by northbound trails used by thousands of illegal immigrants.
You just don't see stuff like this in the Chamber of Commerce brochure.
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Thanks for the bug ID notes, Larry. Knew we could count on you! I knew about Kissing Bugs, but NOT what they looked like. Had no idea they were nearly that large. Wake up with that critter kissing on you, and you'd just about need to ask it how much you owed. As for pack rat nests, maybe. Haven't spotted any such here yet, but why not? We certainly have plenty of field mice and kangaroo rats, along with reptiles hunting them. I grew up around pack rats in Montana. Still remember when I was quite small (definitely preschool), watching my Dad snap-shoot a pack rat that was running along one of the west-wall logs inside our log home. (The weapon was a .38 caliber revolver.)
Jewel Beetle certainly fits the green sparkler, for sure.
Ah, about Pam smoking them to the end: That photo was taken last summer during our hardest financial times when we were living on beans and bacon and d----d little bacon. Had to try stretching the smokes as far as possible for several months.
Fortunately, the finances haven't been as tight for a while now...:)
Now I'm itching all over! :)
Sorry, Wendy. Didn't do that to you on purpose! Got a fresh batch of landscape shot with trees but no bugs in the frame this morning. Hopefully itch-free....:)
maven101 Level 5 Commenter 2 years ago
Ghost...That bug crawling in Pam's butt can ( she really smokes 'em to the end ) is a Kissing Bug...so-called because they will bite your lips when you are sleeping...They are usually found wherever you have pack rat nests...That iridescent green bug is a Jewel Beetle, quite harmless and simply spectacular in their beautifully metallic-like armored bodies...
Thanks for the share...another interesting and humorous Hub...Larry