Fallen

Autumn has lived up to its other name, as the leaves have fallen. The paths in the woods are covered in dried leaves, and as I enjoy crunching through them I think about two things. One, I think about all of the insects that have hidden away in there to pass the winter. And two, I hope I am not squishing anything as I walk.

Yesterday we had something of a novelty: rain all day. It started in the morning and kept going, it didn't just wait for the moment in the afternoon when I wanted to go outside with my camera. We only got a little over a quarter of an inch of rain from it, but that's something. Connecticut is still in a drought, but the part I live in has been downgraded to a moderate drought, unlike the majority of the state that is still in a severe drought. That 3/4" of rain yesterday was gratefully received. It is, however, the reason for there being no blog yesterday.

The weather these days has been very un-Novemberly. I am enjoying it. And I will try not to complain next week when we plunge down to more seasonable temperatures, because after all, that is what it is supposed to be.

Also, a note: the other day I lamented that I had not seen any woolly bear caterpillars so far this year. Apparently I have a very bad memory - I was looking through some posts from September and I saw at least two woolly bears that month. I stepped on one of them by accident. Sheesh. After a while you see so many bugs you can't remember what you've seen.

I didn't find a lot today, and I didn't take pictures of everything I found - I do get bored with taking pictures of the same bugs day after day. So the aphids, and the March flies that were resting on leaves, and the leaf hoppers I just passed by.

I did attempt a few pictures of March flies flying, however:

 

 The reason I tried to get pictures of them today was because the few swarms I saw were so big. This picture doesn't do them justice. That is, if you can even see them.

 See the swarm? Or part of it anyway? This year they are doing the same thing they did last year around this time - now I see the swarms around the trunks of trees. Actually, tomorrow I am going to look at these when they land, maybe these are not March flies...

Here's more pictures showing how frustrating it is to take pictures of insects that are flying:

 Ambush bug, still hanging around, and why not, with so many March flies around to eat?

 Male tree cricket

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Jumping spider