This morning’s patio time not only gave me a chance to see the growing return of my favorite bugs, but it also introduced me to a new resident I had not seen ’round these parts before.

After Larenti had her fill of food and affection, she found a quiet corner of the patio where she could lie down and nap.  I watched her between wasp sightings and immediately saw a rather large bug scampering across the floor beside her.  Too busy to notice as she was bathing, it slipped by her as it headed toward the bedroom door.

This is a rove beetle, although I’m quite uncertain as to the exact species.  There are far too many of these beetles who look alike save for tiny differences that can all be confused with each other, so I’m still working on identifying the critter.

Approximately an inch and a half (four centimeters) long, the little devil was quite fast.  I constantly had to put a stick in its path to get it to pause long enough for me to snap a photo.

Amazingly, it demonstrated its defensive posture only once: curling its abdomen up so that it looked like a scorpion with its tail held up ready to strike.  Impressive little beast!

I didn’t bother it for long though, and let it go on about its business after snapping four or five pictures.  It obviously was not happy with my interference with its morning, and I’m not one to torment simply for an image opportunity.

[let me apologize for the quality of the photos; I had to lighten them tremendously because they were all taken in dim morning light and without using the flash]