What a lovely morning to be a tarantula hawk wasp! These ones were observed drinking nectar from milkweed, one of their favorite foods. They’re an important pollinator of milkweed because as they go in for a sip, the pollen catches on their long, slender legs and gets spread to other plants. And of course, it must be said that those long legs and big stinger are used to grapple and paralyze tarantulas. As a parasitic wasp, the females lay their eggs inside the body of the unwitting tarantula, giving their offspring a tasty first meal upon hatching. But don’t worry, that stinger isn’t for us. When observing these beautiful wasps respectfully, they leave you alone. They’re quite the show this time of year! (fb)

Nevada’s Legislature has spoken. Lawmakers from both parties came together to pass a resolution opposing any resumption of explosive nuclear weapons testing in the state. We applaud Nevada’s Legislature for showing what it means to put people and principles first. #NoNukeTests #NVLeg (fb)