Our first stop on Monday morning was the visitor center at Anza Borrego Desert State Park.
Of course, they have a lovely desert garden display, and I found a few things.


brittle bush leaf beetle, Trirhabda geminata


This tricky little assassin bug nymph did his darnedest to try to hide from me while I was trying to take his picture. Maybe he was afraid I was trying to steal his breakfast (that tiny red bug).



Also at the visitor center was a little shallow pool that had lots of toad tadpoles.




I was happy to see this plant growing wild in one area we visited. It's a desert milkweed, Asclepias subulata, and I know from the specimens we have at the arboretum, lots of bugs visit it.


What would milkweed be without a milkweed bug?


I was trying to take a picture of this bee, and I didn't realize until later that there was also a spider lurking nearby, waiting for a hapless bee to fly too close. (It didn't catch this one while I was looking.)



I saw only one blister beetle (Lytta magister) chowing down on a flower. Perhaps their season is largely over by now.




I will try to get more pictures posted later today.  For now, I need to do some laundry, go to the market, and do some cleaning around here.