Inglorious Morning

I went outside this morning, not to look for bugs, which I knew I would not find with the temperature in the low 40s, but to look at what will probably be the last of my morning glories for the year.

 We didn't have a freeze last night, but it came very close: 34ºF. It was in the 40s when I went outside at about 10:30 in the morning, and I was outside for several minutes before I noticed that I was missing something - the sound of crickets. I didn't hear a single chirp. It was a strange silence. When it warmed up later (to a whopping 55ºF) I could hear a few individuals of different species, but in the morning, no insects were singing.

I didn't really do much of a bug walk today, not because I didn't think it would be worth it, but because I mowed the lawn (in shorts and a t-shirt, because I am stubborn), and I found bugs while I mowed - mostly by almost running over them. That was the case with the Backyard Bug of the Day:

 It is not the most impressive moth I have ever seen, and it looks rather disheveled, but I quite like it anyway, and am glad that I didn't run it over with the mower.

 I did move it to a nearby branch, because I needed to get it out of harm's way - I had more lawn to mow, and it had crawled into an unmowed area. It then spent the rest of the afternoon sitting there. I think it was too cold for it to fly.

Speaking of moths that don't go anywhere because they are too cold, remember the two moths I posted yesterday? Random Bugs:

 Still on the side of the house, inches away from where I saw it yesterday...

 ... still on the plant where I saw it yesterday.

Another insect I almost ran over:

Grasshopper

 It is missing part of its hind leg, but I swear, I did not run over it with the mower.

 I saw a lot of crickets today, way more than I do generally, but that is probably because they hang out in the grass, and I was looking at the grass for hours (it takes a long time to mow the lawn when you are constantly having to stop to take pictures).

 Now, I know this looks bad, but A) I did not run this cricket over with the mower, B) It was like this when I found it, and C) It is still alive. I found that out when I tried to turn it over to have a look at it. I don't know why it was lying on its back on the bricks outside the backdoor, but that's how I found it. I flipped it over, and it sat there for quite a while, but eventually it disappeared, so I assume it hopped away.

 Wasp

 There were bees around today, too - mostly bumblebees:

 There are still assassin bug nymphs around (and still not seeing any adults).

 Winter firefly. Which doesn't mean it's winter, even though it feels like it right now.

 I found a couple of these on tree trunks. I assume it is some sort of cocoon, for some very small species of moth.

 Uncooperative beetle.

I saw a lot of spiders today, too, but since most of them were scurrying through the grass trying to avoid the lawn mower, I didn't get pictures of most of them. Just this one spider for Arachnid Appreciation: