In June of 2015, below the ostentatious facade of Casa Cuixmala and amidst the property’s exotic cast of zebras and impalas, my daughter and I were privileged to witness something truly elegant and special on an otherwise obscure liana (Paullinia fuscescens) growing along one of the trails:
Scarab beetle (Euphoria leucographa) and two ants (Neoponera sp.)
Two Orange Banners (Temenis laothoe), fly, ant (Neoponera sp.), and fly (Family Ropalomeridae)
Fly (Family Ropalomeridae), scarab beetle (Euphoria leucographa), ant (Neoponera sp.), and fly.
Fly, fly (Family Ropalomeridae), small beetle, two flies (Family Lauxaniidae), and ant (Neoponera sp.)
Ant (Neoponera sp.) and scarab beetle (Euphoria leucographa)
Paper Wasp (Polistes carnifex) and flies
Neoponera ants and the vast majority of paper wasp species are powerful insect predators.[1],[2] Such seemingly placid interactions between them and their potential prey might initially bring to mind the idyllic scene foretold by the Old Testament prophet Isiah :
The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox…
No less remarkable, though, was the sheer variety and combinations of insects visiting this plant for two weeks during both day
Fly (Family Lauxaniidae)
Scarab beetle (Euphoria leucographa)
Long-jawed Longhorn Beetle (Trachyderes mandibularis) and flies
