Going 'Round and 'Round

Today required a couple of attempts to have a bug walk, because the first time I went out, as soon as I stepped out the door I heard thunder in the distance. I went back into the house and checked out the weather maps, and after a while went back out again - I had a sort of urgency about a line of storms that was headed across the state, but wasn't near yet. But when I walked around the backyard looking for bugs, I couldn't find very many, except for the gnats that were circling my head. So, when I was finished with my bug walk, I walked around the backyard again. And that's when I found most of the bugs for today's blog, including the Backyard Bug of the Day (which I also heard this evening after it got dark).

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This was only a chance spotting for me. It blended in really well.

 It's a katydid.

 

 It's immature - note the wings are not fully developed.

 Katydids always look annoyed.

Random Bugs:

 Honeybee in balloonflower

 Beetle

 Still don't know what kind of nymph this is.

 Ant with one of those tiny moths that are everywhere flitting about.

Caterpillar - I tried to look it up in the new caterpillar guide I just got, but I couldn't find it. Failed me already.

Speaking of caterpillars, the eastern tiger swallowtail I found the other day became a pupa by the end of the next day.

 Aphid

 Bee

 I don't always have to go looking for bugs. Sometimes they come inside to meet me. This beetle was in the bathroom sink. I had to shoo it to the side to wash my hands.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Flower crab spider

 

 A tiny beetle passed by several times, but the spider either didn't notice or didn't care.