Another day of dodging raindrops to find bugs and buds. Honestly, it really only seems to rain when I am outside with my camera. The rest of the time it is just dark and forbidding, without any actual precipitation. Maybe that is why even after three days of gloomy skies, we only ended up with about 3/4 of an inch of rain.
I really wish I was a supervillain with a weather machine. Except I wouldn't be all villainous about it. I would just not waste three days of July with dark, dreary clouds for less than an inch of rain. It strikes me as inefficient or something. There's no reason all of that rain could not have fallen in one day, and then the other days could have been sunny, with pretty, fluffy, white clouds instead.
Instead, gloom and rain:
But rain can be pretty enchanting, I have to admit.
Especially when caught on a spider thread.
Anyway...
There are two Backyard Bugs of the Day today, because they are very similar, and they are both bugs that I have been seeing around the yard and unable to get a picture of, because they keep flying away. So, since I actually got pictures of both today, both are being featured in case I don't get another chance.
Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:
Both BBotD's today are beetles. This one is hiding under a milkweed leaf. A consultation with my bug book comes up with Strangalia luteicornis as the name of this one. It says, "Adults actively tumble amid flowers in deciduous woods from May to August." That is a more or less accurate description of the situation. Technically it was not in the woods, but very near them.
This one I did not find in my bug book. It was pretty small, about half the size of the other one. I found this one on the sumac flowers, which I am discovering are a very popular hangout for bugs. What is strange to me is that previous to this year, I never even really noticed the sumac flowers. I noticed the red fruit, but never the yellow flowers. Shame on my for being so unobservant. At any rate, the bugs have noticed them, and henceforth I will try to be more attentive.
Backyard Bud of the Day:
An easy one - the yellow lilies that I found blooming yesterday have not all bloomed.
Some bugs have no respect for personal space:
Sorry it's not in better focus - it happened fast, and both bugs were moving. The upper bug's appearance was as much as surprise to me as to the lower bug. And there may be more going on in the bottom left of the picture, I can't really tell.
Some bugs also have no respect for personal property:
I found this little weevil crawling on the top of the bag of Hershey's Kisses next to my computer. It is currently inside my bug vacuum, awaiting transfer to the outdoors. Don't mess with my chocolate.
Sawfly larvae:
Before I touched the branch.
After I touched the branch. One of them just... relieved itself in this picture...
Remember the bug that looked like a thorn?
This is a relative. Entylia carinata, according to my bug book, and to be found on goldenrod, as this is. I prefer common names for bugs, though I know scientists don't. But they are more fun. However, my book doesn't always give those.
Remember those caterpillars that were on the tree by the arbor, and they all disappeared, and I thought one of them might be in the curled up leaf, but it turns out that there was a different caterpillar in there?
The leaf is still curled up and I noticed some frass on the leaf (No, I didn't take a picture of the frass), so I checked it out.
The caterpillar is still in there, and now it's huge compared to how it was, what, last week? It's not clear how this thing is getting in and out - there's a hole in the silk holding it together, but not a big enough hole for this huge caterpillar. And though this leaf is intact, there seem to be a few missing on the branch. So I am guessing it comes out, eats leaves, and then comes back and pulls the leaf shut with silk again. The frass is able to pass through the gap at the end (Insert joke about sassafrass/pass-a-frass). I wish I could catch a glimpse of this when it was out of its little leaf tent.
Speaking of caterpillars and catching a glimpse:
The Caterpillar This kind of caterpillar (tiger swallowtail) has a black line next to the white line on it's pseudo-neck (my term, not a technical term), that according to my reading, and my own observation, it rarely seen, because it's only visible when the caterpillar is fully stretched out. I see it occasionally, but whenever I try to take a picture of it, I have to open the enclosure, and that makes The Caterpillar retract. So, I left it open all day, and finally, when it was eating earlier, got a chance to get a picture of the black stripe. By the way, The Caterpillar has been eating quite a lot the last few days. Yay! In this picture you can see just a tiny bit of its real face under the hood of its fake face. It is actually eating in this shot.
An exciting egg find!
Adorable little baby bugs!
And some unhatched eggs! I'll have to check these out tomorrow.
Okay, that's all the bugs for today, should we move on to plants or mammals?
Okay, plants:
I wasn't satisfied with the picture I got of the butter and eggs buds yesterday, so I had to try again. Eh, this one's not so great, either...
There's a fungus among us as well.
Backyard Mammals of the Day:
Bunnies
Backyard Bird of the Day:
This is the back end of a mourning dove, fanning out its feathers in what I took to be a display for protection or aggression, not that I think mourning doves are aggressive. I was drawn by a commotion in this treetop, and saw a squirrel enter the nest on the left of the picture, and the mourning dove doing this. I actually think this is a squirrel's nest, so I don't really know what was going on there, but it was a bit frantic for a few moments.
The front of the bird, after it had calmed down, and I had gone in the house for my telephoto lens. Following Bird Law, it is, of course, obscured by branches for me to take its picture.
Arachnid Appreciation:
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Whew! So many life forms covered today! Plants, Arthropods, Fungus, Mammals, Birds... No amphibians, or reptiles, but I am not always keen to see snakes. I wish a tortoise would show up in my yard, though. And no fish, in spite of all the jokes I have been making about the humidity.
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