Autumn Color

If you look at details other than the insects in my photos, you may have noticed that lately the background colors of the pictures have begun to change:

 It looks and feels like autumn now. It's a bit of a lag from when the season officially began, but now autumn is acting like itself. Even this caterpillar is in autumn colors.

There's still a fair amount of green, but the leaves are definitely turning, and a lot have fallen already. I wonder if this chrysalis is planning to overwinter, or if the moth or butterfly inside will emerge before winter begins. I am curious because it has attached itself to a leaf on a tree, and the leaf will obviously not be overwintering on the tree. Does the caterpillar know when it becomes a chrysalis that this leaf will be on the ground by winter?

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This sort of looks like a western conifer seed bug, but I am not sure about the colors. Anyway, it's a Hemiptera of some kind.

Other Bugs:

For some reason I found this little vignette amusing. Hover fly and looper caterpillar.

 You'll see this caterpillar again later...

 

 Wasp

 Wasp

 

 

 Thread-waisted wasp

The wasps I saw today were active, but slow. The bumblebees were stationary.

 Stilt bug

 Caterpillar

 Leaf hopper

 I've been looking for these, because I usually see a lot of them around this time on the goldenrod flowers that have gone to seed. These caterpillars make little grass skirts for themselves out of the fluff from the goldenrod seeds. This one is dangling from a thread, or rather, making its way up the thread.

(Some of the backgrounds are still very green).

I found two species of ladybeetles today:

Twice stabbed lady beetle

 Mosquito

 I saw a lot of crickets today, of a variety of species. This is the only one I was able to get a picture of.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Remember the caterpillar that was on the same plant as a hover fly? I went to check on it later, to see if it was still there and it was on the next plant over... with a different companion on the plant.

 

 Flower crab spiders were everywhere today.

 

 Bowl and doily spider

 

 Jumping spider