Giant Mesquite Bug
Thasus neocalifornicus
I did a double take when I saw this lovely during my morning stroll. She must have decided to introduce some variety into her diet, because she was feeding on a nectarine tree, not a mesquite. I assume she was feeding–maybe she was just lost!
This is a female because she has the widened areas near the tips of her antennae that males lack. These insects are true bugs, as opposed to beetles (I didn’t realize there was a difference until I looked them up). One difference is that true bugs have piercing/sucking mouth parts, while beetles have chewing parts. These giant mesquite bugs are found in arid parts of Mexico (where you also find mesquite trees) and also in parts of the USA–Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. The link below is to Margarethe Brummermann’s blog, which has some excellent photographs and information about the different life phases of this fascinating bug.
