Mimic

Blogger procrastination has struck again, so we're going to go right to the pictures...

And I would just like to mention that a large proportion of those pictures will be in the Arachnid Appreciation section.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I think this is a Virginia Ctenucha moth. It is a fascinating moth because it doesn't look like a moth at first. It looks like a beetle or a wasp. Not that either of those things look like each other, but when you see this, you think, oh, that's a beetle. Then you think, no, that's a wasp. But when you look really closely, you realize it's a moth. Kaufman's Field Guide to Insects of North America mentions that some species in this subfamily of moths (Syntominae) are wasp mimics. Personally, I think it looks more like a beetle, at least from a distance.

And what tips you off to the fact that this is a moth? Well, that tongue, for one thing. And the antennae. And the fuzziness (although the wings are less fuzzy than most moths).

 See that Lepidopteran tongue?

 Even when it's flying, you would swear that it is not a moth.

  A couple of Lepidoptera hanging out together.

 Do you see all the bees flying in the background here? I count 4.

 You can just barely see between the wings that the back of the body is blue.

Random Bugs:

 Wasp

 Bee and beetle

 Assassin bug hiding inside a curled-up leaf

 Small milkweed bug nymphs. Not on milkweed. If you read this blog last summer, you may remember that I did a daily feature about what kinds of bugs were on the milkweed plants. Well, this year, most of the milkweed plants don't have any bugs on them, or maybe only a few ants. These bugs have been on the milkweed next to this plant most days, but this reminded me, so I am mentioning it.

 I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but this moth is a pale green color, with green and white lines. It is a geometer moth, and it might be the pale beauty, but I am not sure of that.

 I saw about 15 or so of these white hickory tussock moth caterpillars today, and 11 of them were on this crab apple tree.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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This spider was about 7 feet up in a tree, so I couldn't get a closer shot than this, but from what I could see, I think this is a new species for me. There were two webs there, an orb weaver web, and a random tangle of threads. I am not sure if they all belonged to the same spider.

 Here's that picture, zoomed in. I don't recognize that pattern as one I have seen before.

 A bold jumping spider. And by bold, I mean that is the species. It was actually quite shy. This is the best picture I got.

 Crab spider with ant prey

 Tiny spider on pokeberry

 I finally got a picture of the funnel web spider! And then it zoomed back into its tunnel. But after trying every day this week, I got the shot!

 Do you see them?

 Here's one...

 Here's the other...