Friday, July 29, 2011

Up Close

I spent the morning weeding -- sitting on the ground and getting up close and personal with the border along our entryway. The little rose above is one of the first things I planted after we built our house -- given to me by a neighbor who rooted a cutting under a Mason jar. The blossoms are tiny, about the size of my thumb.
Once I was down at eye level with the Victoria blue salvia, I could see that the flowers were being worked by minuscule bees -- probably the same ones I've heard called sweat bees for their tendency to light in the crook of a sweaty elbow.
The red yarrow I transplanted about a month ago has taken hold. We have wild white yarrow but I'm really fond of these lacy ruby-toned blooms.
Inside, washing my hands before lunch,  I found this fellow lurking in a dishtowel.  He was quite obliging and stayed put for me to take his picture.
No, he's not a roach -- he's some sort of beetle. While Googling around trying to identify him, I learned that there are around 25,000 different types of Coleoptera (beetles) in North America and over 350, 000 worldwide. which makes the Coleoptera the largest order of the animal kingdom. They live in and on all sorts of things -- water, dirt, bark, leaves, dung, carpets . . .
Maybe he's a dish towel beetle.

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18 comments:

Victoria said...

That red yarrow is gorgeous; I've never seen that type before, only the white and the yellow.

Ms. A said...

The flowers are lovely. The bug, not so much.

Merisi said...

Such quiet gorgeous beauty in each of the pictures, also in the previous posts! I love the image of the rose and the hummingbirds especially. Summer blessings.

We are blessed with rain.

June said...

What a pleasure to be so close to your flowers and your little buggies...
Those bugs don't know anything of our existence, yet they they know all there is to know about being bugs.

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

How wonderful to be that close to your flowers Vicki, sans the bug of course.
Sam

Barbara Rogers said...

Who would have thought of a beetle posing for pictures...hope his friends don't all hear and come thronging to your house for attention!

Wayfarin' Stranger said...

Vicki, your "dish-towel beetle" looks like he might be long-horned beetle (family Cerambycidae). This is a large, diverse beetle family with more than 1200 north American species. Most are wood-borers as larvae and some adults make squeaking sounds when disturbed. If you've ever heard loud, chewing sounds coming from a woodpile, these are the culprits. Jim

Jean Baardsen said...

Love the beetle! I clicked for a closeup look - what cool antennae! Glad he posed for you. Wonder if he knew he was going to become famous in a blog? Guess now he's a blog beetle....

Louise said...

That yarrow is gorgeous. I hope it doesn't spread as rampantly as its plainer colored brethren, though. Cool bug.

BB said...

Just gorgeous!!

Reader Wil said...

You manage to have beautiful flowers in your garden. Thank you for sharing these photos.
Thanks for your comment. You are right : we must stand united against the evil powers in the world.

Friko said...

up close and personal, the best way to study nature.

Stella Jones said...

I like that you call him a dish cloth beetle. All God's creature deserve a little comfort, don't they. Beautiful colours in your flowers today Vicki.

JJ Roa Rodriguez said...

i am always fascinated of how you put a short story in every picture u take. and your drive to identify things that you find along the way...

love it! have a great weekend ahead!

JJrod'z

Kath said...

When watering the porch plants each morning, and filling the bird baths, I discovered we have a very important visitor to the bird baths. Tiny bees. They fly around me waiting for the fresh water in the shallow dishes.
Just an infinite gift from nature.

jennyfreckles said...

What sweet little bees, I've never seen any so tiny - and that beetle looks like he likes clean things, not dung.

Vagabonde said...

That Wildacres retreat sounds like a little bit of heaven. To be with like minded people must be so nice. Your wordless Wildacres photos were outstanding. I like the sun behind the clouds.

When I have enough basil (not this year) I make the pesto then I freeze it in ice trays. When they are frozen I pop them out and place them in large plastic bags. This way I can use as many cubes as I wish in a sauce – they de-freeze quickly.
You have such pretty flowers in your garden. My husband is happy with the flowers he planted on the back porch, in planters. I just went out to get some fresh marjoram to go with the mushrooms and mini red peppers for a quick stir fry for dinner. I took 3 or 4 weeds off from his pots – not a big garden, not many weeds.

Vicki Lane said...

Victoria -- I've seen yarrow in all different shades of reds, pink and oranges.

June -- Well put! I am so in awe of all the life that goes on that we hardly notice.

Jim, thanks for the identification. As Jj noticed, I really like being able to put a name to things.

Vagabonde -- in all this heat, a container garden with only a few weeds sounds just right. And what a good idea to do the pesto in an ice cube tray! I'll try that with my next batch.