Looks Like...

Today was not the most rewarding day of bug hunting in the backyard. I just couldn't find bugs. Even though it started raining while I was out there, I did my usual bug walk (it didn't start raining in earnest until I was basically done. Just a sort of desultory drizzle), but the bugs were not around. Here's the little that I found...

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I am not sure what this bug is, and I can't find it in the books, but I think it is a leaf beetle of some kind. If you look to the right of the picture, you see a squiggly line on the leaf, which I think is from this beetle eating it by scraping away at the top layer of it. The fun thing about this particular bug (aside from it being so rectangular) is that when I post pictures of it on facebook people tend to comment on what they think it looks like. Today was suggested a piece of vintage jewelry. Other times it has been likened to a bunch of zippers. I think it looks like either burnt toast or juustoleipa, which is a Finnish cheese. I can't remember the other comparison, but this insect reminds people of a surprising number of things. Most bugs just seem to remind people of bugs.

 There is probably a spittle bug in there...

 An extremely uncooperative and teasing butterfly. Can you see it?

It might be a painted lady, but I can't find my butterfly book, and I didn't get a good look at the dorsal side of the wings.

 Insect exoskeleton. There were several of these on individual leaves near each other.

The next bug is in a picture with a spider, and though the spider is blurry, I think I'll put it in arachnid appreciation, just in case even blurry pictures of spiders freak people out.

Arachnid Appreciation
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 The bug is in the upper right hand corner of the picture. I was trying to take a picture of the spider, which was trying not to have its picture taken, and when I looked at the picture on the computer, spotted the bug. You can just see part of it.

And here's the uncooperative spider.