Genesis 1:25-30 (NIV) 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good
It’s always a fun adventure when our grand-kids come over for a visit, or ‘play date’ as I often call it. Well, it was a very hot evening, and we have a very small pool! Good drawing point for a hot evening is a nice refreshing dip. Soon our grandson asked to come over to swim. Of course, I was thrilled! He is a fun kid, and I had been quarantined with covid for the week! This was my first ‘free day’!
Our granddaughter brought him over. She had a large box of paints with her. I quickly guessed she was not swimming. She had a project! Evan quickly jumped into the pool and started playing with some new pool toys. Suddenly I saw something out of the corner of my eye crawling up the outside of the basement wall. Now, we are outside, so, ants, beetles, worms and other species that made it to the ark with Noah often can be seen in our beautiful and very vegetated yard. THIS was none of them! The photo above is the mug shot!
Evan jumped out of the pool. I ran for a glass jar. That is what we do to get a closer look. We have a ‘catch and release’ policy so we will check out all the attributes of the newly captured creature. We get a mug shot and track where they came from in our data base , (google). When we are satisfied with out investigation, we deport it back to where it came from.
Funny thing happened, ‘Benny’ as we began calling him, was dropped in another part of our yard by my grandson. Soon he was right back on the patio near where we found him! I thought this guy requires a more introspective study since he was so determined to be around people!
Here is what we found about Benny. He is a Palo Verde beetle, native to northern Mexico!!! What is he doing up here? That’s when I realized he was an illegal Mexican alien who crossed our border into PA!
This longhorn winged beetle is commonly seen around Phoenix in the mid-summer when they take to the air. Well, kind of. These beetles are awkward fliers and have a zig-zag flight pattern due to their hefty weight-to-wing ratio. Activity for this insect is mostly nocturnal and they are drawn to light. You might encounter one hurtling toward your porch light on a warm summer evening. The fully grown adult palo verde beetle is about 3-5 inches long, is shiny black, and has a thorax (neck) with black spikes. Its wings are a coffee-brown color. Bulky, curved, segmented antennae protrude forward in front of the beetle. Six legs propel this desert dweller over brush in search of a mate. The palo verde beetle (also palo verde root borer) is one of the largest beetles in North America. If forced to defend itself the beetle may use it’s mandibles to pinch. Otherwise, they are harmless, unless you have a palo verde tree in your yard (you don’t). They do like to destroy the tree.
Read more at: https://arizonareport.com/big-black-arizona-beetle-palo-verde/
So, Benny went under our deck steps and I declared this place a ‘sanctuary city’. He is far from home, no food source, no family and, he is unarmed, well, except for those mandibles. They do look sharp! Benny will have a short life span. We have no palo verde trees here for him to bore. It is doubtful that his kind will be able to live long and prosper in North East PA! Yesterday when he showed up was very hot, but it is very cold here today! I just found it fascinating to learn about one of God’s creatures. He made them all, for a purpose. I just feel that the palo verde beetle lost his purpose when he strayed from his natural habitat!
There is a lesson to be learned here from the black Mexican palo verde beetle!
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