For a lot of the night or early this morning and now day, 2 Bobcat kittens and mother have been on our roof. The kittens are running around playing on our roof. At 6 am (don't usually get up then) I gave up in trying to sleep any more and went to see if I could get any photos. I only got 3 photos of 1 kitten from inside the house through a window. I will try outside later if they are still there. I will post my photos when they get developed. Sorry no photos now. I don't own a digital camera.

Girdle on a mesquite twig created by Oncideres rhodosticta. Arroyo Chico, Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, USA. 18 October 2008.

When you see a fresh girdle like this, there are likely mesquite girdler eggs in the distal part of the twig. The mother beetle chews this ring around the twig so the tip of the twig dies and the tree's resin cannot drown her offspring. The grubs develop in the dead twig and usually also pupate and overwinter in it.

A large male cactus fly (Odontoloxozus longicornis) sits on a rotting opuntia branch, grooming his forelegs. Then he patrols the surface of the branch, probably looking for females. Tucson, Pima County, Arizona, USA. 16 November 2008.

Green fruit beetles (Cotinis mutabilis) scrambling for access to the sap of an injured Mexican Palo Verde tree (Parkinsonia aculeata). Himmel Park, Tucson, Arizona, USA. 14 August 2007.