Not a Rainbow

I almost achieved something today of dubious distinction: a full rainbow of bugs. I found red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo bugs (or what I was going to pass off as indigo), but the moth I thought had a tinge of purple to it really didn't. So close. And it's not easy to find blue bugs! I am inordinately disappointed.

However, I did find another Bug-et list bug to be Backyard Bug of the Day, so that makes up for it somewhat.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Saddleback caterpillar. Which will turn into a saddleback caterpillar moth, apparently. It is interesting that in this case, the moth is named after the caterpillar. Well, this caterpillar does  have a very distinctive appearance, and the moth is mostly brown.

 This is a small one, probably less than half an inch long. When it gets bigger there will be spikes on its sides as well as on its front and back. Venomous, naturally, and can give you a nasty rash. Needless to say, I did not touch it.

Charming, isn't it? Of course, the reason I wanted to see one is because it's so weird.

Backyard Bud of the Day:

Honeysuckle. Yes, honeysuckle has been Backyard Bud of the Day before, but all of a sudden it has buds again, even though it should be past blooming, so I am featuring it again.

Now, I have about a billion pictures to post today, so what I am going to say is going to sound ludicrous, but once again today I had a really hard time finding bugs. Yes, I ended up finding a lot, but I was out in the yard for probably close to two hours. My bug walk used to take less than half an hour. I really, really had to look, and the only reason I didn't just give up sooner is because after I found a blue bug, and I thought I had a purple one, I decided I wanted to get the rainbow today, so I kept looking until I found the other colors (actually, I already had some). Also, it took me a long time to find a BBotD - I was almost done with my circuit, and just about ready to admit defeat. The thing is, this is the third summer that I have been intensely studying my backyard, so at this point I am aware of what I am not seeing. There are bugs that I would have been finding in abundance at this time in my other summers, that I am not seeing at all. I don't know if it's the lack or rain, or the general coolness of the summer (although the warmth has definitely arrived this week), but I think there are fewer bugs. Yes, I found a lot today, but I had to work hard to do it.

Here's some compelling evidence of lack of bugs:

 Coneflower with no bugs on it.

 Goldenrod with no bugs on it (well, that might be one way in the back, but usually there are about a hundred).

Milkweed with no bugs on it.

All three of those plants should be teeming with bugs. There were a fair number of bees on the goldenrod today, but nothing like there normally would be, and there are several species of bugs that I think I should be seeing on the goldenrod that I have not seen at all this summer.

Sigh.

Well, while we're on the subject of plants:

This tree had a lot of galls.

These are on the same tree as the one of the leaf above.

Caterpillars:

I'm only finding two of these in the last couple of days. These pictures really show the difference in color between the older and younger one.

Milkweed tiger moth caterpillar.


Butterfly:

 All three of these pictures are zoomed in, because I took them from over the garden fence. This is a cabbage white butterfly, and for all I know it was laying more eggs on my already destroyed Brussels sprouts. Sigh.

And now, moths:

 Porch light fans...

 (Nice proboscis)

And moths in the wild.

 Not a two-headed moth.

This tree is a popular resting spot for moths. This is different than the one from yesterday (or the day before, I forget which), but similar. It's smaller, though.

Random Bugs:

Do you ever feel like you're being watched?

 This was to be the indigo bug in my rainbow.

 A very shadowy, mysterious bug who vanished into thin air when I was trying to get close enough to see what it was.

 This looks like a candy striped leaf hopper's pattern, but in neutral colors.

Fishfly. Female, I think.

 Fishfly's wings up close.

A couple of leaf hoppers on the storm door, allowing for an underside view.

And now, a plethora of spiders and spider webs for Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Oh, look! It's the World's Most Uncooperative Leaf Hopper! And he's got a friend!

 This is the spider who's been building a web on the front porch all week.

 It is unusual to see these spiders active during the day. This one had just retrieved some food from the middle of its web.

 This is the first one of these I have seen this summer. Actually, this might be only the second one of these I have ever seen.

 Another of the big orb weavers active during the day! This is Spider #1, in case you are interested.

 The joke was on me with this one. I took this picture as a demonstration of a coneflower with no bugs on it, and when I looked at it on the computer, I noticed the little spider on the petal.

 This spider has a great web on a cedar tree. This tunnel leads into the gap between the two trunks of the tree (it is a narrow gap).

Then it has a rather large front porch - over a food wide. And covered with detritus from the tree.