My Ferret Giving Me A Massage???

My Ferret giving me a massage???

omnomnomnomnom(devouring a flower together)

Black oil beetle larvae, Meloe proscarabaeus, hitching a ride on bees. The bees are Colletes sp. and Halictus quadricinctus, respectively.

Female oil beetles in the genus Meloe lay their eggs in a burrow dug into the soil. Larvae hatch, find flowers to climb, and wait for bees to visit before climbing onto their bodies. When the bee returns to her nest, the larvae disembark and feed on the provisions (often pollen and nectar) and bee larvae in the nest. The larvae don’t harm the adult bees and only eat the larvae incidentally - they could survive on nest provisions alone.

Adult black oil beetle:

Photos 1-2 by hjallevad and 3 by carnifex

You spin me round ....ferret laundry

Blue-washed Metalmark (Necyria duellona), family Riodinidae, Rio Bravo, Colombia

photograph by Michael Garcia