New Year Surprise

HAPPY NEW YEAR from the Backyard Bugs!

I didn't get to do a last-blog-of-the-year post yesterday because I didn't find any bugs on my bug walk yesterday, but today was more successful, and a little bit surprising, so the new year of bug hunting is off to a good start. Granted, most of what I saw was the same things I have been seeing for weeks, but there was one amazing find that made my whole walk worthwhile.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I was so surprised to see this hopping around near my feet today! A grasshopper nymph! This wasn't something I found because I was kicking around in the leaf litter and disturbed it, this just appeared out of nowhere and landed right in front of me. You can tell it's a nymph from the undeveloped wings. Now, today was warm (at least when I started my walk–the temperature dropped a few degrees while I was out there), but not outrageously so–it was 50ºF (and painfully windy). It was sunny, as you can probably tell from the picture. But a grasshopper was not at all what I would ever have expected to see on January 1st!

This was less of a surprise:

 There was only one candy striped leaf hopper out today in the winter sunshine.

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of some tiny things crawling around in some moss, and I speculated that they might be springtail nymphs because there were also springtails crawling around in the moss. I didn't really think so, though, because I know what springtail nymphs look like, which is just tinier springtails:

 Here's one on a puddle leftover from last night's rain.

Here is a terrible picture showing the relative sizes of the nymph (toward the left, bright yellow) and the imago (adult, toward the right). Note that the nymph just looks like a tiny version of the adult, without the markings.

 Now look at this creature I found in the moss (there are still a lot of them crawling around in there). If you compare it to the one of just the nymph above, and consider that both pictures were taken at the maximum magnification of my lens, and you can therefore compare their sizes accurately, this one is bigger. There is no way it is going to develop into that. This could be another species of springtail, like a snowflea, perhaps. But, well, I just have no idea. It is extremely tempting to adopt a few just to see what they turn into, but that is probably a terrible idea for a number of reasons, number one being that since I have no idea what it is, I have no idea how to take care of it.

As for the other bugs I saw today:

 A couple of winter ants.

 Woolly bear caterpillar. It would appear that sometimes they decide that they don't like the spot they chose to spend the winter and on warmer days go for a walk to find somewhere else to stay.

This gnat was having a hard time holding on in the wind, I think.

Well, I have finally managed to get two of my calendars ready. There will be more forthcoming, but for now, here's Insect Fascination and Insect Inspirations, collections of insects to brighten the coming months. You can customize the calendars to begin whatever month you like, and add your own important dates. [Edit] The butterflies and dragonflies are ready now, too: Wondrous Wings: Butterflies, Moths, Dragonflies, and Damselflies