Messing around in the Milkweed

While parking the car at the studio today I spotted this snail in the milkweed forest that's growing between the parking lot and the Canadian Pacific railroad tracks. At first I thought it was a monarch caterpillar, curled up, but when I got close I saw it was a snail. It's a fairly large one, and not familiar to me.

I haven't seen a single monarch butterfly yet this year.

But there were more antics going on below.

"Let me call you sweetheart..."  But I'm wondering: is this an interracial insect couple, demonstrating against the odious, recently-proposed Quebec Charter of Values? And are those eggs, or tiny aphids? Guess I need to go back and take a closer look, but maybe someone (Dave?) can enlighten me about the identities of these beetles.

Comments

[Tom]

I must confess that I feel uncomfortable when I see someone wearing a burkha, because we pick up so much from the eyes and the rest of the face when we talk. Beyond that, I see no reason at all why we should hide our religious affiliations if we have any. We are able to identify ourselves on all other grounds, including politics and sexuality. Why not religion? Whatever happened to 'Vive la Difference'?

[Rachel Barenblat]

I love these photos.