Hanging On By A Thread

Yesterday's Bug Bonanza did not repeat itself today. It was hot, humid, and cloudy, and I was grumpy. The bugs were uncooperative. It was not my favorite day in the backyard. But it was still beautiful, and interesting, and wondrous, because it just can't help itself.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I found this assassin bug nymph (I think) dangling from a thread on a tree. Now, I have often seen spiders and caterpillars do this - it's a defense mechanism to get out of a dicey situation quickly to jump off of whatever they are on and pay out a thread, then, when things look better, they climb back up. I am 99.9% sure that assassin bug nymphs do not produce silk, so how this bug got into this situation I cannot say. It looked like it was desperately trying to climb back up, but did not have the skills (or maybe the correct anatomy) to do so.

 It is a Backyard Miracle that I got any pictures of this in focus, since the bug was swinging back and forth from its efforts.

In defiance of my general non-interference policy, I rescued it. It 'thanked' me by refusing to sit still for a picture, but this one came out okay. I thought this was a wheel bug nymph, but I looked it up, and apparently not. This particular creature is not in my book (natch), but I am pretty sure it's an assassin bug nymph. At any rate, it is definitely a species of Hemiptera.

I found a couple of other Hemiptera today - stink bugs (I think):

 I spotted this lovely one on a tree trunk...

 And this one peeking at me from a branch.

When I moved to the other side to get a better look, it excreted several drops of fluid. I think it was trying to get me!

Want some more simplistic computer animation bug fun? Toggle back and forth between the next two pictures.

I have been noticing lately that the milkweed plants, which this time of year are usually teeming with bugs of many kinds, are almost devoid of bugs. (Though, really, since I have only been doing this for three summers, that is probably not a statistically significant sample, and for all I know, the two years when they were teeming with bugs was the anomaly. But I am guessing not). They also look horrible, which I am attributing to the lack of rain. It's disappointing. I did spot one bug crawling on the pods, though:

I think it is a nymph of a milkweed bug (not to be confused with a milkweed beetle).

Do you ever think about what it would be like to be a bug? I would not want to be this ladybug, and have to crawl all over these spikes:

 This is another one of those times when I wonder why it doesn't just fly.

These are prickly AND sticky. But I guess it's worth it if you find delicious aphids to eat, right?

Random Bugs:

Remember this huge beetle as BBotD a while back? It was not so docile today, zooming around in the grass. It's not looking so good now...

Backyard Bud of the Day:

 Asters, I believe.

It's looking like fall on the oak trees:

 Good news for the squirrels and deer - a lot of acorns.

I am seeing a fair few galls on the oak trees, too, which I find fascinating now that I know there are insects developing inside them.

I've got a few spiders for Arachnid Appreciation:

 For a while there were a lot of these spiders in the yard, but I haven't seen them in a while. Until now. This was a tricky shot to get - the first few times I tried, as soon as I got close - and by close, I mean within five feet of the web - the spider dropped down out of sight on a thread. However, I am persistent.

I spotted this spider hiding under this leaf...

 

... and when I got close with the camera, it scooted to the top of the leaf to get away. I am not sure it understands the concept of hiding...

Free hugs!