A soldier beetle (?) perches before on pointy leaves before it flies off.

I wanted to do a grand series of posts on the beauty and odd nature of…things in Florida. But many photos remained unprocessed, and it hasn’t happened. Meanwhile this one has been sitting in my “on deck” folder begging to get out. It’s a favorite that took some extra work to get right, and as I tend to do with my favorites, I was “saving” it for a perfect “time” or, more specifically, a perfect post. I guess this is a perfect post? Maybe not, but now the photo can speak for itself.

Note: this handsome little devil is probably(?) a soldier beetle, family Cantharidae. But for the life of me I can’t find a positive ID. I thought those purple elytra and being in Florida would make it an easier collar, so to speak, but to no avail.

(I think the color version is indubitably better, but for kicks, the black and white version can be found below.)

A soldier beetle (?) perches before on pointy leaves before it flies off. (Black and white version)