Bonking and bonk

These red soldier beetles are very common and often to be seen on the creamy inflorescences of hogweed. Here, on a clifftop ant hill, they were clustering on wild thyme, to vivid effect.
"The adults spend much of their short, summer lives mating, and can often be seen in pairs."
Because they're always at it (as here)  they are often referred to as bonking beetles.

Elsewhere, and this time on the afore-mentioned hogweed, I spotted a more alarming sight: a large horse fly (extra), handsome but disturbing - their bites have given me hell many times. (Although I'm told it's a male and therefore cannot bite.)

Out of curiousity I checked online to see when 'bonking' came have a sexual meaning. When I was young it just meant being hit lightly on the head. 1975 was the curiously precise answer. Elsewhere I learnt that it was originally Australian slang  and also that it was KNOB spelt backwards (who knew??)

Wikipedia told me that Bonk is a surname too, from the Polish Bąk which also means: a child, a bumblebee, a species of heron - and a horsefly!  


We come full circle.