Apr 21
@anonymusbosch I think about this comment thread a lot
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@anonymusbosch I think about this comment thread a lot
One dwarf rabbitbrush plant has cotton balls with twigs sticking out of them on it, maybe a dozen. Turns out, these're the galls that hold the larvae of Aciurina bigeloviae, a type of fly.
I've seen the flies with their green eyes and spotted wings but didn't photograph them yet.
Is that a bee? A fly? Whatever it is, it sure seems to like slurping up the dwarf rabbitbrush.
A very likely candidate is the desert bee fly (Lordotus pulchrissimus). Bee fly species that're brown like that are a dime a dozen, but the desert bee fly absolutely loves rabbitbrush.
Native Yard Life Lessons: Rabbitbrush
Had a lot of good advice from friends in my lifetime, but for this year in particular, I can hear Andrew saying: "At some point, every human being has to ask themselves how much rabbitbrush they want in their lives, and if they really want rabbitbrush there."
Seed head of rubber rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa)
Seed heads of rubber rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa)
A beetle in a sea of rubber rabbitbrush flowers (Ericameria nauseosa)