A Beetherfly in My Backyard
I went onto my deck this morning and found a curious insect resting on a green plastic chair. It appeared to be part beetle, part moth, part butterfly. Let’s call him a beetherfly.
The beetherfly.
His wings were round like a beetle’s. His body was flat like a moth’s. The way he slowly flexed his wings in and out reminded me of a butterfly.
At first I thought he was preparing to fly away. But no, he was only stretching.
I took a couple of pictures and then let him alone, sitting in the chair next to him to work on my computer. I looked half an hour later and he was still there. He was no longer stationary, but moving around on the chair so I could check him out from a variety of angles.
The shape of the chair, the reflections, and the crazy color and light made for interesting photography.
I love the reflection of his legs on the plastic.
Finally, just like that, he took off. When I saw him flying I realized I’d seen him (or others of his kind) flying around the garden many times before. I’d just never seen one at rest.
Another remarkable little find in my Melville ecosystem. Anyone know what it is?
Comments
Very cool, first time I’ve seen one!
Thanks! Me too. It’s amazing that I’m still discovering new living things in my own backyard.
Absolutely….he is a cutie!
Deano
What an interesting insect!
I think it’s a kind of net winged beetle; like a Lycus trabeatus or something. Lovely shots :)
Well done, Caitlin!
Yep - it’s a tailed net-winged beetle lycus Trabeatus
The little things make life beautiful , hey?
Indeed. And I love that you wrote “hey” at the end of that sentence :)
Beautiful photography as always, never seen one before myself despite having grown up in that part of the world
Those photos are gorgeous! I hope you don’t mind me sharing them with my entomologist friend. :)
Not at all, please do!
I’m such a bugaphobe that I hesitated to come to this post – I shriek when I accidentally open National Geographics at a page with bug pictures. But your pictures are so charming, I wasn’t upset at all. Hope you find out what it is.
Well! That is very flattering. I am also not a big fan of bugs usually, but I’m learning to get over my phobia here. These days, I’m really only scared of the really huge, terrifying ones.
This one was particularly cute. We found out what it was! A tailed net-winged beetle lycus Trabeatus.
It looks as though it has been flattened.
I know! That’s what I thought too.
What a great-looking little guy! Kathy
I’m a bug lover, so found this little one enchanting! Never expected to find bugs on your page though - just shows how open you are to new directions!
Yes, I’ve come a long way. Before this, my only bug-type posts were about scary roaches and rain spiders. But now I’ve learned to write about insects in an appreciative way :)
I am still TERRIFIED of Parktown Prawns, which I haven’t written about yet because I’m too scared to get close enough to photograph one. But my friend Martina wrote a brilliant post about them: http://martina-in-jozi.com/2011/11/22/parktown-prawn-my-worst-nightmare/.
Life becomes more interesting if we stop to appreciate the little things. It gives you so much more perspective of the bigger picture. Since I’ve moved to Jozi, the rush of life is definitely more tangible than in Paarl, where I’m from. Fewer people stop and take time to relax and be outdoors. Thanks for sharing your pics on this beautiful beetle. God amazes me every time with His creativity!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Lilly. It’s funny…It wasn’t until I moved to this huge city that I truly started to appreciate little things like this. Ironic in a way.
How unusual!
I know, isn’t it?
That’s an interesting looking bug there. I like the wings though. What Macro lense are you using?
I was using my Canon 28-135 mm. Great lens!
Net-winged beetle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycus_trabeatus
Yes! ????
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