Aquatic Bugs?

I saw the most unbelievable bug incident today. I still can't believe it happened (which, I guess, it what makes it unbelievable, by definition). I saw a ladybug crawling on a leaf. I know that doesn't sound unbelievable, but this leaf is in my fish tank. Underwater. And not just floating near the surface underwater, fully six inches at least underwater. And the ladybug (another invader) was crawling down it like it was just a normal leaf in the backyard. I wish I had been able to get video of it to show you, but it was over too fast - after crawling a few inches (and I didn't see how the ladybug got onto the leaf in the first place), the ladybug let go, and floated around a bit. Then it got nudge by a fish. By then I had the lid off the tank and scooped it out, setting it on the top of the tank. It then promptly walked over to the edge again, and I think would have dived back in the water if I hadn't pushed it away and put the lid back on. Astonishing. Unbelievable. I don't know where it is now, I left it on the top of the fish tank because I didn't have the heart to evict it outside while it was wet (even though the temperature was above freezing. I have seen dead ladybugs in the fish tank before, but this was definitely a first.

The second most astonishing arthropod occurrence of the day is that I saw a tick. I have not seen a tick in MONTHS. I was NOT happy to see one today, because I am never happy to see ticks, but now I feel like I have to go back to doing tick checks when I come in the house after being out in the yard. I did not expect to be doing tick checks in December! I'll post the picture down in Arachnid Appreciation, even though I DO NOT APPRECIATE TICKS.

Today was, by December standards, quite a warm day. I don't think it actually reached 50ºF, but it was close. And it rained last night, so today everything was damp - perfect conditions (by my limited experience) for finding springtails. And boy, did I find springtails! They were EVERYWHERE.

 On trees...

 On rocks...

 On lawn furniture...

 Also puddles. See that little, yellow speck? I am pretty sure that is a springtail, from the way it was hopping around on the water. It was smaller than the others I have seen, though - probably as small as I can actually see with my bare eyes - and this is as close as I got with the camera before it hopped away.

 I wasn't completely sure that this speck was a living thing at first, because it seemed to be pushed along the surface of the water by the wind, but yeah, it's either a springtail or something else of that ilk (I haven't figured all of that out, yet).

 Slightly closer look at this one.

And these, which I am also not sure about. Springtails, woodlice, something called a thrip? (I don't think they are thrips, I just wish they were because of that name. Thrip. It's awesome. But I think thrips are something else). Anyway:

Let's see, what else do I have today... I took over 150 pictures today, the first time in a while that I have taken so many. Lately a big day would be about 30. I am sort of out of practice organizing my notes for blogging...

Ah, here's something else unexpected, that I almost missed out on, because I thought it was a gnat and wasn't going to bother trying to get a picture of it, but I decided to anyway, and found out that it was...

 A rove beetle! A really, really tiny one. Gnat sized. But when I saw it do that signature move of lifting its abdomen to push its wings back in place, I knew it wasn't a gnat.

 Those wings are still not tucked away properly under its elytra.

What else...

 I don't know if this is a rescue, salvage, or victory.

 The Cricket is still there. Not surprising that it would be moving when the temperature is so high.

 There were a couple of other arthropods under the board with the cricket.

And I found a hemiptera today.

Another surprising thing about the bugs in the backyard today: there were no bugs on the porch when I got home this evening, even though the temperature was in the 40s.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Here's an arachnid that I do appreciate - a tiny spider.

Here's one I don't appreciate at all. Tick. Evil.