Baby Bugs

Finally, fireflies! There aren't many, which is worrisome given that they are in decline, but finally the hot, summer nights have the twinkling lights they are supposed to have.

Speaking of hot summer nights, we're on day two of what is supposed to be a heat wave (defined in this region as 3 or more days with temperatures about 90ºF. This is forecast to be a 3 day heat wave), and today was hotter than even the forecast said it would be (by a few degrees), and there was an air quality warning. I try to stay inside as much as I can when there are air quality warnings, but I did go out to try to find bugs. I waited until late in the afternoon, when most of the backyard was in shade, but it was still mightily uncomfortable. The bugs must not have liked it, either, because I couldn't find many. That wasn't surprising, I always have trouble finding bugs on really hot days.

Except for gypsy moth caterpillars. I cannot wait for this scourge to end.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This is one of my favorite bugs. It is a nymph of a hopper, I think a buffalo tree hopper, but it looks like a fish that has decided to give life on land a go.

If you read yesterday's blog post, you may recall that my bug walk yesterday was fairly unsuccessful (though it was ultimately better than today's), and that I turned on the porch light at night in the hopes of finding more bugs that way. What I didn't mention was that I didn't go out there to look for the bugs until just before midnight. Well, I left the light on when I came inside, and later I went back out again–after midnight, which meant that any bugs I found would be counted as today's bugs, not yesterday's. I went out because I wanted to get a better picture of this moth:

It's slightly better, but still disappointing. Still, you can see how pretty it is.

Anyway, you may also recall that yesterday's Backyard Bug of the Day was a brown lacewing that I found on the porch. Well, when I went out about an hour and a half later...

 ... I found green lacewings instead. Different species, but very similar–the obvious difference being the color.

 There were quite a lot of bugs out there, but most them were pretty antsy (not unusual when it's hot), and too high up the walls for me to get their pictures.

Now, for today's daytime bug walk bugs, there was kind of a theme of babies. That is to say, nymphs and larvae, immature bugs. The Backyard Bug of the Day was a nymph...

... as is this itty bitty grasshopper.

 Photobombed by a mite

 This looks like a twig dangling from a vine, but it's not...

 ... it's a looper caterpillar. Aka, a larva of a geometer moth. This one looks like it has a parasite egg attached under its chin (well, I don't know if caterpillars have chins, but you know what I mean).

 Another caterpillar...

 Caterpillar closeup

The only adult bug I found today, a twice-stabbed lady beetle.

And, the Bad Babies of the Backyard:
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The infestation is getting more disgusting by the day.