Keep Moving

I had kind of an interesting insect encounter in the backyard today. I was working on a project (and so did not have my camera close to hand) when I noticed that a bug had landed on me. At first glance, from the color and size I thought it was a bumblebee, but just as I was brushing it off my shoulder, I realized what it really was: a carrion beetle. I realized this mid-brush-off, so I couldn't stop myself in time, and the beetle ended up on the ground, and when I bent down to look at it it was already burrowing itself under the grass. It was an impressive move, surprisingly fast. And then I had to laugh at the weirdness of having a bug that eats dead animals land on me. It's a little gross to think about... And you know that joke you always make when there are vultures circling overhead, about making sure to keep moving, so they don't think you're dead? Some version of that flickered through my mind...

The robins have started on their next brood on the front porch:

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Katydid nymph

Other Bugs:

 There are fewer syrphid larva among the aphids today. And it does appear that the ants have moved most of the aphids away from where their attackers are. I know the syrphid larvae can move, but they don't look like they should be able to, and I have never seen one travel from place to place. They are really weird. The head end is at the top in this shot, and it just doesn't look like a head.

 This ended in confrontation.

 I was sitting on the back porch, typing a message and watching insects fly by–several butterflies and a dragonfly. And then something flew awkwardly into view and landed on the picnic table umbrella. It flew with its legs flapping, and honestly it looked like an airborne spider. I got up to have a look as saw that it was an assassin bug. This is the first time I have ever seen one fly. These are insects that I have always known have wings (in their adult stage), but that I never saw in the air... until today.

 Here's another. Check out that formidable proboscis, or stylet, a word I just learned today... from a dictionary, of course: Click here to read a word blog where I read about bugs. I actually already knew a lot of this, but I did learn a new word, and that is always fun.

 Crane fly

 Lady beetle

 Firefly hiding out during the day

 Leaf hopper nymph. This is the smallest one of these I have ever seen. I wish there was a way for me to truly demonstrate how small things are in my backyard sometimes. This was small enough that I had to use the magnification of the camera to see what it was. I have seen these before that were bigger, and pale yellow instead of white. I don't know if this is a different species because it is a different color, or if their color changes in different instars.

 It had company on its vine, the nymph of another kind of hopper

THIS is what I wanted to see today (and actually, for some time now):

 A gypsy moth caterpillar dead from the fungus. The numbers this year are way down, but they are still out there, crawling and eating. So I am glad to see that the wet weather we've had for months is having a good effect and killing the horrible caterpillars.

 I found one of the white hickory tussock moth caterpillars today. Based on this one I have to say the one I found last week is from an earlier hatching, because this is a much earlier instar. That probably makes no sense; it certainly makes no sense if you haven't been reading this blog for the last couple of months. Point is, tiny caterpillar.

 Beetle larva

 Some caterpillars are translucent, and you can follow the progress of their digestive systems because you can see everything they have eaten. This caterpillar is pretty full.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 I thought there was going to be a confrontation here. The orange spider was walking directly toward the jumping spider, but then it turned and kept walking, giving it a wiiiiiiiiiide berth.

Jumping spider with prey (march fly, I think):