Kissing Beetles

Bugs have burst onto the scene today. I photographed a caterpillar (extras) this morning and discovered that it is a dangerous brown-tailed moth larva which can cause severe itching of the skin and asthma. I searched for it after lunch and killed it. Strange that it is the only one that I can find as they emerge from silken tents holding lots of them.

I was excited to see and photograph my first damselflies of 2022 and quite a few other interesting minibeasts. I've decided to post a pair of courting malachite beetles, I've been spotting these over the past week or so. Their ritual is absolutely fascinating and I've documented it a couple of times on here in the past. Glands in the region of the male's antennae produce a pheromone-rich substance which females find irresistible. The female approaches the male so that she can eat it. I watched this pair for ages. Eventually they took a break from 'kissing'. (Extras) Sometimes but not always mating takes place. I didn't hang around for the denouement.