The other night I was sitting on my porch chatting on the phone with a friend when I happened to glance up at the flowering branches of the royal poinciana tree nearest my house. To my consternation I saw tiny black shapes flying all around the ends of the branches, following disturbingly bee-like patterns. I didn’t hear any buzzing, though, which eased my mind a bit — I was mercilessly assaulted by a swarm of bumblebees in my youth, so I’m a little skittish about stinging, flying insects. Once the sun was completely down, they moved on.
Last night, though, they were back, so I investigated further. To my surprise there were hundreds of the things flying around not just the royal poinciane, but also the nearby date palm. I grabbed my camera and a flashlight and ventured into the thick of them, snapping a few photos. [1; 2]
The images are linked rather than inline, because they are NSFW (not safe for work) — if your co-workers are brown beetles, anyway. That’s right, my front yard is apparently the site of an on-going beetle orgy, a veritable swing club of copulating coleoptera. There were hundreds of the little buggers (sorry) were engaged in a frenzied exchange of genetic material all over the palm fronds and poinciana leaves. Well, okay, not so much frenzied: once they had located a partner and hooked up (so to speak), they remained motionless, like some kind of insectoid tantric sex. But hey! Whatever works.
I don’t know where there are all coming from, or what has turned my foliage into the South Beach of the six-legged set, but I hope they leave soon. Right now every time I walk around that part of the yard I wonder just what I’m stepping in.
{ 3 comments }
insect p0rn… strange though that you don’t hear any buzzing?!
It’s spring time and love is in the air!
Now cut that out or I’ll never be able to visit your site at work!