Bugs Are Interesting

I saw another butterfly today.

I think it was a cabbage white. It was not any more cooperative than the one the other day in terms of photography, but it had enough charm to flutter around my head a couple of times before wafting away where I could not follow.

We've been having some nice days, if a tiny bit on the chilly side, but the nights have been quite cold sometimes, and I think that is why today I had a hard time finding any bugs. I ultimately found enough for my bug walk to be satisfying, but it took quite a while.

I am just going to post the pictures I took in order, because it's late, I'm tired, and... well, that's why. So Backyard Bug of the Day will come near the end. I will still put all of the spiders at the end.

Note that the backgrounds of some of the pictures are green these days.

 Shadow of a wasp

 Bleeding heart buds

 One of my favorite bugs (I know, I don't really have favorites, but if I did, this might be one) - six spotted tiger beetle. These are very entertaining bugs.

Crane flies. This was an interesting sight - The bug above, which I believe is the female, was sitting on the tree trunk, and the other bug just flew in (quite clumsily) and attached himself to her. No preamble of any kind, and it was just so... I don't know the word... automatic? I mean, they are backward to each other. I'd have expected something more complicated in getting attached, but nope.

 This is another crane fly, a male, I think, lower down on the tree trunk. It was already there when the other male arrived, so it's not as if the other male cut him out.

 Here's all three crane flies.

 I spotted this bug on the leaf, and wasn't even going to take a look because it just looked like a gnat. I looked anyway, and saw that it was a quite charming little striped thing.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 First assassin of the year.

I love the way they fold up their legs like an umbrella when they feel threatened.

I stood up from looking at some flowers on the ground to find myself eye-to-eye with this fly. It was rubbing its front feet together in a melodrama-villain kind of way, and appeared to be staring at me, so I was mildly disconcerted, wondering what nefarious plan was in its mind. I don't usually take pictures of flies unless I have nothing else to take pictures of, but this one was right at eye level and wanted to cooperate, so I took a bunch of pictures of it. It was meticulously grooming itself.

 I was so intent on my subject in this one, I didn't even notice that other bug until I looked at the pictures on the computer!

 Zoomed-in shot.

 Bug spotting eye test

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 I think this is the first time I have ever been able to discover that this is the spider that has the neon orange marking on its underside. Usually they build their webs in places where I cannot see both sides. Today the mystery is finally solved. (Unless I knew this and forgot it. That's possible).

 I didn't get a good picture of the other side, but I did get a good look.