Neoclytus mucronatus

Alas, this gorgeous beetle (Latin name Neoclytus mucronatus) does not have a common name. It’s a longhorn beetle, but that really doesn’t narrow it down past the family (Cerambycidae). A bunch of its cousins have common names like “ash borer”, but this doesn’t. What this beetle needs to be called is a wasp-mimic beetle, because,…

Mydas Fly

I thought I’d snuck a photo of a wasp (most wasps are not tolerant enough to let my camera get close) until I got the photos home and had a better look. This 35mm long insect is a wasp mimic — a clever fly which makes its living by looking like something much pointier and…