Hide and Seek, and Weirdness

My mind is completely devoid of interesting observations, and my list of pictures for today is very long, so let's just get to the bugs, shall we?

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This is a new one for me. It appears to be a cocklebur weevil, according to my book, but there are a couple of bugs that look very similar, and no written information about the cocklebur weevil, so take that with a grain of salt, according to my usual dismal insect identification skills.

 I am not a fan of this color combo, but I couldn't exactly ask the bug to pose on a plant that it would look better on.

 The color looked different with the flash.

 Great legs.

One last shot.

Backyard Bud of the Day:

I think this might be another aster, but I won't know until it blooms.

I saw a weather beaten butterfly today:

 It was a fairly obliging butterfly; I saw it as we were getting home this afternoon, and it waited while I went inside and got my camera. Great spangled fritillary.

 It has something stuck to its back. It sort of looks like spider silk, but I could not get anywhere near close enough to see. Its wings are pretty battered, but it can still fly.

A bee came along and wanted the same flower. The butterfly let it have it.

Moth in the wild:

The katydids wanted to play hide and seek:

 They're not very good at it.

It's kind of amazing the number of different species of hoppers there are. Here's a small sampling:

My blog notes for this one just say "weird":

 I have seen these around a few times, and was always confused about them; well, I still am, but I can see now that it has legs, so I guess it's a bug? A really weird bug? When I tried to get a better look it did that oh-so-helpful thing where it just drops onto the ground. Thanks for that, bug.

I have three guesses for what these are: cocoons, galls, or Tribbles.

This is an interesting scenario, and funny if you have a sense of humor like mine:

Here we have an ambush bug, and we know what that does, and a ladybug, which is another predatory bug that preys on aphids. The ladybug was moving around a bit, and I watched to see if the ambush bug would ambush it, but it didn't. I have no idea why - it doesn't like ladybugs? It just ate? It wasn't in a good position? Ambush bugs don't seem to lunge for prey or anything, so maybe the ladybug didn't get close enough? Or maybe it was professional courtesy, one predator to another? (I know, I am kidding). But what I find really amusing about this scenario is that there is a third bug. An aphid. Which neither of the other bugs, who would both probably like to eat it, are even aware of. Stay safe, little aphid!

Okay, how about a few random bugs?

 The katydids are not the only ones playing hide and seek.

 I used to think there was only one kind of cricket. I was wrong.

My handwriting in my notes is especially bad tonight. This appears to be 1 blank, according to my notes. Or maybe that was ladybug larva in my version of shorthand? Anyway, that's what I think it is. At least, it's a larva of something.

Flowers:

You'd think that in the course of these leaves being devoured I would notice what was devouring them, but nope.

Back Porch Plant has met its demise. Today it got broken off when it was stepped on. I feel bad for it, but really, it's surprising it lasted this long. I suppose it's just as well, as it cannot have been good for the porch, ultimately, to have a tree growing through it (I didn't realize it was a tree when it first poked through). In the background, among other things, you can see the cage the chrysalis is in. I no longer have any expectation that it is going to eclose this summer, and if it is going to overwinter as a cocoon it has to be outside, so I figure it might as well stay out there now (I had brought it out when we left on our trip).

Just a little bit of Arachnid Appreciation:
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 No spider here, just a web.