You know the Robert Frost poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay“? I sometimes think that the first line (“Nature’s first green is gold”) has yet another meaning, because so many of nature’s first blooms are yellow. Yesterday, I saw two interesting insects on yellow flowers and another insect with yellow legs. (I actually saw a nice-looking black soldier beetle on a daffodil, too, but those photos weren’t sharp enough to publish).
Above are several pairs of rove beetles on a skunk cabbage flower. According to the Oregon Historical Society, skunk cabbage roots are valuable food and medicine for native people (and bears). For the Pelecomalium genus rove beetles, the pollen serves as food, and the “spadex,” or club-like structure in the flower, is their mating ground.
The reason my photo isn’t better is that I didn’t want to step deep into the mucky area where the skunk cabbage was growing. That’s not my footprint to the upper right of the flower, but maybe it was where another animal stepped. Anyway, I feel very lucky that this unique, native plant grows on the Oregon coast.
Dandelions are not special or native, but dandelion pollen can feed some native bees, like this Halictidae sweat bee. Because it was a relatively cool day, the bee sat still for its portrait.
I love sawflies.
I love that until a couple years ago, I didn’t know that this member of the bee-wasp-ant order existed. I love that they look like caterpillars when they’re larvae. I love that the adults can have branched, feathery, or knobbed antennae, and I love the rainbow of colors they can be.
I saw this black sawfly with pale, straw-yellow legs this week. I know it’s in the Tenthredinidae family, but I’m waiting for a more specific determination from BugGuide. (Where “specific” won’t necessarily be to the species, but maybe to the genus … Tenthredinidae is the largest sawfly family, with more than 7,500 species).
I hope you get out to enjoy the first week of spring!
Ticklehead 
why are they called saw beetles? Am I missing some raspy parts?
Great question! And the answer is another weird thing about sawflies: The females have a serrated structure in their abdomen that they use to cut through plant matter and lay their eggs. Yes, it is shaped like a saw!