Beautiful Little Nightmare

Beautiful Little Nightmare

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Photograph Titled "Beautiful Little Nightmare" is a photograph of a Tarantula Hawk resting on the Desert Milkweed blossom in Sunnylands Estates. I think these are so beautiful, with a silky ebony body with iridescent golden wings this insect is as pretty as a butterfly. But after reading a bit one would look at this beauty with a different eye. The Tarantula Hawk will stun a tarantula to paralyze them then lay their eggs on the tarantula's abdomen. When the pupa hatch they hungry and find they are living on a buffet! While I am sure a tarantula see them as terrifying murders I still think they are beautiful.

This photograph was captured in Sunnylands Center & Gardens in Rancho Mirage California spring 2017