today’s best bug encounter was this Prionus laticollis. a large longhorn beetle that feeds on dead tree roots, they are one of the largest commonly encountered beetles around here.
some impressive shearing jaws on this lady
my favorite cerambycid trait is their wraparound eyes, which curve from the top of their head around the base of the antenna to the bottom surface of the head.
next time I’m in the milkweed field I’ll try to find another commonly spotted longhorn with even stranger eyes!
“In planning to be a professional naturalist….. I turned to the teeming small creatures that can be held between the thumb and forefinger, the little things that compose the foundations of our ecosystems, the little things that I like to say, run the world.”
Edward O. Wilson
By observing a milkweed plant very closely for more no more than five minutes, you will begin to understand exactly what Wilson was getting at.