The Golden Zone
The southeast corner of our property is not only the lowest area in elevation, it is also a spot where I can expect to find a trio of golden blooms in late summer. Thanks to some minor flooding of the irrigation ditch each spring during snow melt, the corner receives more moisture on a regular basis than does the rest of the land.
Alpine Goldenrod
The three plants that seem to thrive are all late bloomers with golden flowers. Rubber Rabbitbrush is a common plant throughout the plains and is a sure indicator of the changing seasons:
Curly-cup Gumweed is a member of the aster family that comes by its name honestly with leaves and flowers that exude a sticky resin that will coat the pant legs of anyone walking through it.
Curly-cup Gumweed
And the third of the trio is Alpine Goldenrod, a favorite plant for one of my favorite insects – the prehistoric looking Jagged Ambush Bug, Phymata sp.
An ambush bug waits patiently to capture a meal
Ambush bugs often capture insects much larger than themselves
With their huge raptorial forelegs, ambush bugs make up for the fact that they are not very good fliers. Their small size and camouflage colors allow them to sit quietly and wait for dinner to come to them.
When a prey insect lands nearby, the ambush bug will grab on and immediately pierce the victim with its beak-like rostrum, injecting a paralyzing agent that also works to liquify the innards of the helpless captive. The ambush bug then sucks its meal through the rostrum much as we might suck a milkshake through a straw.
The male (darker) is “guarding” the larger and lighter colored female
Male jagged ambush bugs will “guard” a female when it comes time to mate. This does not mean he is protecting her but rather that he prevents her from mating with other males by riding around on her back both before and after mating which takes place with the male to one side of the female.
Dinner mate – literally!
In the photo, above, the male (right) and female (below and upside down) jagged ambush bugs are both dining on a much larger Tachinid Fly as they mate. Once the mating process is complete, he will again climb on her back and may stay there for days as he tries to ensure the only eggs she produces will be his offspring.
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