Velvet Ant Surprise!

Wow! I am reminded yet again to bring my camera with me everywhere, all the time!
I was caught unprepared last week... but here's the story.

This past Wednesday I went for a hike on the Fort Ord land near Seaside, CA with a friend. I was able to capture and hold a fat male "blue-bellied" lizard which may have been either a Western Fence Lizard, or a Pacific Blue Bellied Lizard. He was content to rest on my finger in the sunlight while we scratched its back and turned it over to view its impressive blue belly.

On the same hike, I spotted the first winged, male velvet ant that I have ever seen. It was considerably smaller than most of the females that I've encountered, and it flew a quite clumsily and erratically. Whenever it tried to land it would roll to a stop on the ground. Perhaps it was slightly wounded or nearing the end of its life. It has always been a treat to spy a velvet ant scurrying along the ground, and this sighting of a winged individual made the day extra special.

As usual, the darkling beetles are out in force right now, ambling over all of the trails through the Chaparral and over the paved bike trail that follows the shoreline between Pebble Beach and Marina.

The site of the day is a delightful site that aims to answers readers' questions about insects that they have encountered:
http://whatsthatbug.com/