Encore

The crickets may not have had much to sing about yesterday, but today the insect orchestra was performing with gusto. In fact, if you went outside right now (as I just did), in the dark, unable to see that the leaves have mostly fallen from the trees, you'd be more likely to think that it's August than November. One of the chillier nights in August, but still more like that late summer month than this mid-autumn one.

There was a much more annoying sound in the backyard this afternoon, though:

This stupid woodpecker persists in trying to make a winter home for itself in my house. It has gotten so bold that when I go out there to yell at it, it barely bothers to fly away.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Another interesting chrysalis. I have no idea what's inside it, but it's quite curious looking.

I am happy to report that the morning glories were not completely killed off by the frost. Most of the vines are dead, but there are some green leaves left, and new blooms opened today:

 There were a few sweat bees happy to take advantage of the warm weather and new flowers.

 And a hover fly

 There were huge numbers of candy striped leaf hoppers to be found today. This picture doesn't give a great look at them, but each of those leaves has 4 or more hoppers on them.

 This had more, but I scared about half of them away. And there are others on the back of the leaf.

 

 There aren't many leaves left on most of the trees, and a lot of them have candy striped leaf hoppers on them.

The other thing I saw a lot of today were beetles. I only saw one of each species that I saw, but I saw several different species. I didn't get pictures of most of them, but I got some:

 I don't know if that is a mite on its leg, or if its leg is swollen–I don't even know if insects' legs can swell. Only that one leg was like that.

Beetle

 Weevil–which is a kind of beetle

 Assassin bug nypmh

 Some kind of Hemiptera nymph

 Wood louse

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Six-spotted orb weaver

 I don't think I have ever seen this kind of jumping spider anywhere other than on the side of the house. Never on rocks, or plants, just on the house. I wonder where the lived before my house was built?