Observation date: July 31, 2024
Submitted by: jamesvonloh
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: Female ovipositing on fringed twine vine leaves attached to an Apache plume shrub along the Arroyo Trail, Organ Mountains - Desert Peaks National Monument. She used milkweed leaves accessible through shrub canopy openings from which I collected images. Completing one egg deposit she flew toward another set of milkweed leaves but was intercepted by a robber fly that immediately took her to the ground. The RF rapidly sucked fluids from her head/thorax/abdomen segments for several seconds then flew to perch on a nearby rock. She slowly arose, spread her wings out wide (perhaps to warm after losing bodily fluids?) then began to quiver until her death. The mid-morning was hot, windy, and under hazy (smokey) conditions.
Status: Resident
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: August 05, 2024
Coordinator notes: Jim, you are one heckuva storyteller. May I include this story/montage in a future blog post, pretty please?
