A Beetherfly in My Backyard

I went onto my deck this morning and found a curious insect resting on a green plastic chair. It appeared to be part beetle, part moth, part butterfly. Let’s call him a beetherfly.

The beetherfly.

His wings were round like a beetle’s. His body was flat like a moth’s. The way he slowly flexed his wings in and out reminded me of a butterfly.

At first I thought he was preparing to fly away. But no, he was only stretching.

I took a couple of pictures and then let him alone, sitting in the chair next to him to work on my computer. I looked half an hour later and he was still there. He was no longer stationary, but moving around on the chair so I could check him out from a variety of angles.

The shape of the chair, the reflections, and the crazy color and light made for interesting photography.

I love the reflection of his legs on the plastic.

Finally, just like that, he took off. When I saw him flying I realized I’d seen him (or others of his kind) flying around the garden many times before. I’d just never seen one at rest.

Another remarkable little find in my Melville ecosystem. Anyone know what it is?