The pressure to mow the lawn again is trickling in from various unnamed sources. I decided before performing that act, which I always resist, I had better inspect my daisies - weeds, you know - to see if the usual mid- to late-summer visitors have arrived. Only one daisy had a bug big enough to see with the unaided eye. Click on either of these photos for a closer view.
It happened to be one of my favorites, the Pacific Ambush Bug,
Phymata pacifica. Once these bugs make their appearance, they tend to reside within inches of the same spot for several weeks. They don't move fast and are very reluctant to fly. They just lie in wait with their over-sized front "forearms" for other bugs to crawl or fly within their grasp, then ZAP, they are grabbed and slowly eaten. I've seen one in the process of devouring a grasshopper while it was still alive and struggling to escape. If greatly magnified and filmed, this could be the stuff of horror movies. While I plan to mow the lawn this weekend, I am comforted to know that soon there will be many ambush bugs residing on the Tansy and other flowers along the trails in the woods. One of the main trails into Boyle Ravine is a particularly good spot to view the activities of the Ambush Bug.
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