Tussles

Too many pictures, no time for chit chat. Pictures are better than words anyway, right? And supposedly they are each worth a thousand words, so today's blog is practically a novel.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Hover fly. Looks very much like a bee, I know, but that's not a stinger on the end.

 Woolly eggs on a blade of grass

Backyard Bug Behavior

 I spotted these tiny bugs running around on a leaf, and at first I thought they were ants, really small ants, but there was something about the way they moved that just didn't look ant-like.

 Then they started tussling with each other, and that definitely didn't look ant-like. Not that ants don't tussle, they do get feisty with each other sometimes, and I don't know a whole lot about ant interactions, but something told me that these were not ants, so I took a closer look. (I figured this all out before I took any pictures, obviously. By the time I got close enough to focus it was clear these were not ants. I didn't just figure it out when I got to this shot of them wrasslin').

 There was some pretty intense wrestling going on.

 Usually at least 3 bugs, but I think there were sometimes more (several of the bugs on this leaf skedaddled when I got close with the camera. It was much more crowded before).

 This picture shows what all the fuss was probably about (this is a different leaf, nearby, with more of the same bugs).

 Everyone wants to pass on their own DNA.

Random Bugs:

 Larvae, larvae everywhere...

 Typical butterfly encounter. I saw a lot of these today. In fact, just a lot of butterflies in general, which is nice.

 Never seen these before... Some kind of aphid.

 New blog feature: Caterpillar Close-ups.

 I noticed this caterpillar in a flower pot...

 It was trying and failing to climb the walls to get out. I thought I would be helpful, and tip it out...

 ... and it thought I was being unhelpful and grabbed onto one of the holes on the bottom.

 Still more larvae...

 I know this is a terrible shot, because the bug is out of focus, but it's the only one I got before the bug hopped away.

 I don't have a favorite bug, but if I did, the six spotted tiger beetle would be a candidate, for looks and personality.

Definitely not for cooperation, though.

 Caterpillar Close-up!

 Arachnid Appreciation:
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 It's not unusual for me to see a jumping spider with some sort of prey in its grip.

 What surprised me when I zoomed in this picture, though, is that what it has caught is another jumping spider.