Natural Theory

My grand theory of nature: If there is something to eat, there will be something to eat it. So, a tree full of blooming flowers will attract insects that feed on nectar, and those insects will attract:

 Bug eaters. The blue winged warbler was back today, and it spent at least 40 minutes in this tree, flitting from branch to branch, feeding on the insects that have congregated there. While I have seen multitudes of flying insects, the warbler, being able to search more of the tree, has found a caterpillar or larva of some kind.

 I would love to know how much it ate in the time it was there.

 

 

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Beetle. Tiny dung beetle of the genus Ataenius. I have mentally named these beetles capsule beetles, because they look like pill capsules. They are really tiny, and adorable, and I thought it was charming that this one landed on my book while I was eating lunch at the picnic table, but now that I know it's a dung beetle I am a little less charmed.

Other Bugs:

 Carpenter bee in the rock garden. There aren't so many flowers left, but there are still bees, mostly bumblebees until today, when the carpenter bees came, attracted to the blooms.

 Bee on bluet

This is another bug that automatically gets to be Backyard Bug of the Day when and if I happen to get a good picture of it. Obviously, that's not what happened today:

 Bee fly. One of the cutest and most difficult to photograph bugs in the backyard.

 

 

 Rove beetle on rotting log

 Rove beetle in the grass

 I can't tell what this robber fly has caught and is feeding on, but it is a pretty impressive size, especially when you consider that the robber fly could fly while carrying it.

 Click beetle. A different species than the others I have been seeing lately, bigger and differently colored.

I have mentioned a few times over the last year the difficulties I have had with taking pictures sometimes due to problems with my knee. Tomorrow I am having surgery on my knee to fix the problem (hopefully). While that will be great in the long term, I don't know what affect it will have on my bug walks in the short term. I've never had knee surgery before, so I don't know what kind of shape I will be in. At the very least I am pretty sure there won't be a blog tomorrow. I'll have to wait and see what happens after that. I am willing to give up a few days worth of walks with my camera, though, if it means that I will soon be able to do all of the things I used to be able to do without pain. Wish me luck, and quick healing so I can get back into the backyard and find bugs for you.