Wildlife Wednesday - poor little bugs

Soldier Beetles

I found these poor little bugs washed up on a beach this past weekend - not my beach, but a nearby one. I took a photo of them because they wash up in their hundreds and it's quite amazing how many there are. These were marking the high water line.

I remembered doing a post on them and I thought it was last year, but it was 2 years ago (how quickly the years pass). You can find it here.

My sister was visiting at the time and we found they were Soldier Beetles, often called Plague Soldier Beetles, and they appear in vast numbers when conditions are right.

I haven't seen too many down my way yet, so maybe our conditions haven't been quite right yet.