Summer is over, if not by the calendar, then at least by the starting of school. The weather has been weird, though not terrible, but I think it has had an effect on the plants as well as the bugs here in Southern California. I ended up taking too little advantage of the arboretum's later summer hours, but I tried to make up for it this week. There is nothing quite like seeing the flowers and plants glowing in the evening sun.

The figs seemed slower to ripen this summer, and they aren't as sweet as usual. And it took longer for the beetles to find them, but they seem to be making up for lost time.

An anise swallowtail caterpillar, blending rather well into a blooming fennel plant.

A male green lynx. You can tell it's a male by the pedipalps. Although both sexes have pedipalps, the males have the "boxing gloves" on the ends, and use them to transfer their sperm during the mating process.