THREE FOR THURSDAY: 3 INSECT VISITORS TO TROPICAL TEXANA

Thanks again to Cindy from My Corner of Katy for thinking of this great idea. There are a number of us with this Thursday format, so why not join in? See my Blog Favorites and please go visit Cindy's  great garden! :-)

All gardeners know that the more time you spend observing, the more you see in a garden, even one that you  know inside and out. Here are three visitors we had this summer AND that held still long enough for me to photograph.

Always a favorite, this giant swallowtail just suddenly decided to land and soak up some sun. Fortunately, I had my camera.

If there are citrus trees in your neighborhood, chances are you'll see this visitor. I see them weekly and sometimes daily.

Looks scary, doesn't it? It was sucking on a fly when I first saw him. This Robber Fly is considered a good guy since they eat mosquitoes and flies.  The larvae live in soil and eat grubs and grasshopper eggs. My book on Texas insects says it can give a painful bite, so I didn't try to annoy him.

BTW: Click on the photo to enlarge and see his awesome 'feet'. He can catch prey by pouncing on them.

I wish this Green Fruit Beetle or Fig beetle had a cool name, but it doesn't. I see this member of the scarab family about once a year.

They are also considered good guys since the grubs live in soil and eat bad guys. The adults eat rotten fruit.

Latin name: Cotinis mutabilis, formerly known as Cotinis texana! (Wow!)

The underside is outstandingly irridescent and beautiful. He crawled away before I decided to go back outside and flip him over for another picture. I find them in our compost pile.

That's my Three for Thursday. Your turn. :0)