Rise and Shine

The early bird may get the worm (ugh, why would you want that?), but the early bug hunter doesn't find very much. I had to do my bug walk at a time of day that is mostly theoretical in my usual life, and was disappointed to find that not many bugs are early risers. I can tell you who's a night owl, though - aside from actual owls. Three times in the wee small hours of the morning sirens went by down on the highway, and each time the young beasties in the woods set up a ruckus in response, howling and making other wild cries. I still don't know what their response is supposed to mean, but the sirens sure do get them riled up.

The robins have become very aggressive in defending their territory in front of the porch. If I go anywhere near the area - even on the side of the house, not even in front of the porch, they put up a stink and start diving at me. They only do it behind me, but I can hear them swooping down behind my head. It's a little bit unnerving - and unfair: this is MY HOUSE. That is MY PORCH! I made that wreath they built their nest upon. I think a little respect is owed here, especially since I was so nice about avoiding the area before the babies hatched. This is getting to be a bit irksome.

However, I did go out on the porch after all of this and take another picture. Funnily enough, they are not quite as aggressive when I am actually that close to the nest.

One of them has its eyes open.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 A curious caterpillar. I have not been able to find this in any of the books at my disposal, so I don't know what this is going to turn into eventually, but it is sure interesting now. What I don't think you will get from any of these pictures is that in person this is another one of those moths that look like bird poop. Not knowing what this is, I don't know what those spikes on the back are for, but I would guess they are just part of its attempt to look like something other than a caterpillar. There are some species of looper that stick things to themselves, bits of flowers or other plant matter, in order to blend in to their surroundings, but I think these spikes are just part of the caterpillar. Just in case they are venomous barbs I kept my fingers well out of reach, however.

Interesting eggs on the side of the house:

It would appear that weevils are the early risers among bugs on Sunday mornings:

 This one is about to do the tuck-and-roll-off-the-leaf maneuver. It is pulling its legs in.

 Those are just the ones that sat still for pictures.

Random Bugs:

 Plume moth on the bedroom wall

 Leaf hopper

 Assassin having breakfast

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Blink

It doesn't get more summer than this: standing on the back porch, listening to the singing of crickets and watching fireflies. Summer, like spring, has more than one beginning: meteorological summer begins on June 1st, astronomical summer begins on June 21st this year, and as an extra, the unofficial in any way start of summer is Memorial Day, this past Monday. It has certainly been hot enough to be summer for the last two weeks, give or take an odd chilly day. But that's not really what makes a summer, and for me, I think the crickets and fireflies mean that summer is really here. Given how late spring was in coming, I wasn't expecting the fireflies for a while (in spite of the recent heat), but they're here, and I am overjoyed to see them lighting up my little bit of the world.

I didn't take any pictures of the fireflies - it's almost impossible, and I just wanted to enjoy them. So they are not the Backyard Bugs of the Day, even though they are in my heart.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

Caterpillar Close-ups:

 Different caterpillar from above.

Today I realized why there are so many kinds of bees:

 There are a lot of different kinds of flowers. A bumblebee would never be able to pollinate this flower (which is called a something something something rocket. Except I am using the word something to replace the words I can't remember).

 Anyway, the rocket is suddenly in bloom, and it was very popular with these bees (or wasps. I still can't tell the difference).

 Some kind of hopper. Taken just before it flew away.

I don't know what they're eating, but it kind of looks like a caterpillar. I am beginning to wonder how there are any butterflies or moths at all, given the fatality rate of caterpillars.

Here's a live one. It's on the same plant as those ants, though, so it better watch out.

 Dragonfly! Not the first I have seen this year, but the first to land so I could take its picture.

 The new backyard trend: trees with two forest tent caterpillars on their trunks.

 Ladybug larva

Ever wonder what a tick looks like from underneath?

 Neither have I, but now we both know. I did another test of the tick repellent pants. This time I put my foot up on a rock so my thigh was parallel to the ground, and put the tick on my thigh. It walked rapidly to the side and jumped off. Or it could have fallen. But it looked deliberate this time.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 This jumping spider has an enormous abdomen in relation to the size of its cephalothorax, compared to other jumping spiders I have seen.

Please Use Other Door

I am trying very hard to come up with something interesting or inspiring to say about my backyard today, but I am coming up pretty blank. It was hot. We need rain. There were very few bugs to be found (I wonder if the lack of rain is an issue? Hmmm...). I only took about 100 pictures. That is nothing for me - most days this week it was more like 400.

Once again the most interesting things in the backyard today was something I didn't see - we came home in the early evening, just before it got dark, and there were sirens coming from the highway down the hill (about a half mile away). The young coyotes in the woods (if that is what they are) joined in howling with the siren. I don't know if it bothered them, or if it was something that they felt they needed to respond to. Or maybe they just liked the sound of it and wanted to sing along.

So, apparently I am still not allowed to use my front door:

 This is one of the parent robins telling me, "NO! YOU STAY INSIDE THERE! AND SHUT THE DOOR!"

While both parents were busy saying the same thing to every little bird that came by, I sneaked out and snapped a quick shot. These two are pretty imperturbable. There was a lot of racket going on, with the parents scolding all the other birds, and they just slept on.

Today the air was full of floating fuzz:

Here's a bit that landed.

Speaking of things you hear in the great outdoors:

This squirrel sat on that branch for at least ten minutes (it was still there when I walked away from that part of the yard) gnawing on something. I was a good thirty feet away and could hear it. Beneath the tree another squirrel was digging through the dry leaves on the ground, looking for something. I sometimes see squirrels sneaking around so silently, I have said that they put the fur in furtive. At other times they make such a racket, not just vocally, but going about their normal activities.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I don't know what this is, maybe another leaf beetle? My reading said that there were some that look like globs of mud, which is what this looked like at first glance. I am not in the mood to go digging through the books for something that is probably not in there, though. It might not even be a beetle, though. It has a little bit of a hopper look to it, too.

 What an adorable face!

Random Bugs:

 Tiny bee on big flower - clematis.

 A couple of forest tent caterpillars marching up a tree.

 This larva looks unwell...

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Same spider as yesterday, same spot. Still beautiful.