Just Soldiering On...
The British are coming! The British are coming!
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere?
No, just soldier beetles, family Cantharidae, scrambling for aphids.
Soldier beetles are so named because they sport a color pattern reminiscent of the British soldiers who battled The Thirteen Colonies (then known as "Great Britain’s 13 North American colonies") in the American Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775 to Sept. 3, 1783. The colonists (including my ancestors, the Keatleys, the Laughlins and the Agees) fought for independence from British rule. Today (July 4, 2025) we continue to celebrate that independence.
Soldier beetles remind us of the Red Coats. Periodically we see them, clad in "revolutionary red," joining lady beetles as they gobble up the aphids in our garden. It's a feat and a feast.
The good guys and good gals with their prey...
