For work I wrote about Chilean financial issues, but when I'm in #Chile, I try to deepen my familiarity with the land and its living things. Here are a few observations from the last few days. First, photos from the bed of the Mapocho river in eastern Santiago.
Plant bugs on wild manyflower tobacco (Nicotiana acuminata)
Star thistle (Centaurea)
Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) on willow (Salix alba)
Swamp smartweed (Persicaria hydropiperoides)
more info at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=7182&user_id=steven-cyclist&verifiable=any