Summer Solstice Blue Mountains Beetle Hunt

[JWRay]

To start the summer off right - I went out hiking - birding - bugging in the Blue Mountains today. It was a pretty short trip, pretty close to home, but the weather was beautiful.

 

I primarily hit some mid-elevation (~4800ft) meadows that cover lots of the ridgelines among the stands of ponderosa pines.

The day started sunny but was only around 50 degrees. It slowly warmed through the morning and insects, particularly Hymenopteran, began activity among the flowers.

I had hoped to find some Trichodes ornatus. This species is very common around the base of the Blue Mountains when yarro are in bloom, but the yarro is mostly done at low elevations and they are becoming a little difficult to locate. Up here there is still some blooming, but alas not a single Clerid to be found.

 

I did manage to find a good number of Cerambycidae.

And one nice Meloidae:

Tomorrow I am off to collect along the muddy banks of the north shore of the Snake River. Definitely going to get Cicindela oregona, but I am hoping last weeks series of rain storms has triggered the activity of Cylindera terricola and Cicindela haemhorragica, both of which occur at the site I am going to.

 

 

[LarvaHunter]

I wish Florida had mountains. That view is awesome.

Nice finds! Good luck hunting at Snake river.

[Hisserdude]

Cool! I have been around the snake river recently, lots of darklings, mostly E.obscurus. ( I think that is how you spell it, lol.) Good luck!

[Greatwun]

Cool finds! And those are great pictures of the area.