The Bugs in the Backyard: Sluggish

This is the week of the Perseid meteor shower, and traditionally it rains all this week to ruin our chances of seeing a meteor. I saw one last night, when part of the sky was unobscured by clouds. Tonight is typical Perseid weather–cloudy, but not actually raining, rendering the clouds pointless, and proving that they are only here to ruin the fun. However, it didn't actually rain all day as forecast, so I was able to go outside and enjoy the beauties of nature in the daytime, even if there's not much to see tonight.

I don't usually post bad pictures for Backyard Bug of the Day, because one of the criteria for being Backyard Bug of the Day is that I got a good picture of the insect. But I am breaking that rule today because I only got bad pictures of the only bug that really qualifies for BBotD today. I also feel like I shouldn't point out when pictures are bad, but if I don't acknowledge it, then everyone will think I don't know when pictures are bad. I won't apologize, and I won't make excuses (though to be honest, the weather and the bug are to blame in this case). Just focus on the weirdness of the bug, and ignore the bad photo (I just want to say that it is very difficult to focus a camera when the viewfinder has fogged up from the humidity).

Backyard Bug of the Day:

Yellow-shouldered slug caterpillar. Funny name, given the lack of shoulders (I assume they are referring to the yellow-lined ridges where the top meets the sides?), and the fact that it is, indeed, a caterpillar, and not a slug. Slug-like caterpillars are a group (family?) of caterpillars that have kind of modified prolegs and move along a bit like slugs. This one will, as many caterpillars do, grow up to be a rather unremarkable, brown moth.

I spotted it crawling (is that even the right word for something slug-like?) up a tree trunk upon which a Derbid planthopper Cedusa rested. I liked the color combo of the two insects together.

You can just barely see its head here, under the green hood–it's a pity I couldn't get better pictures of what it's like underneath.

Close-up of the head.

Here's a closer look at the Derbid planthopper Cedusa.

Backyard Amphibian of the Day:

I think this is a new frog species for me.

Backyard Bird of the Day:

Immature turkey. The rest of the family is just out of view.

Other Bugs:

One of the cool things about double-toothed prominent caterpillars is that they are so good at looking like the jagged edge of toothed leaves.

Moth with quite a bit of wing damage. I have read that when moths and butterflies have bits missing from their wings it is from where a bird tried to grab them and a piece of the wing came off as the moth/butterfly escaped.

Aphid on the milkweed where the tiny caterpillars hatched a couple of days ago.

Most of those tiny caterpillars are kind of shriveled up now. I have no idea why.

This is the Queen Anne's lace flower head where all of the black swallowtails have been hanging out for the last week:

Now they have all moved down the stem. I think one has gone off to pupate. These are the three that are left, and two of these are probably going to go off to pupate soon. Tomorrow I expect to see only the smaller one.

Did I mention it rained today?

The asters are blooming, and this one has a stilt-legged bug on it.

White hickory tussock moth caterpillar

This is not an insect.

Yay, a monarch caterpillar! This one probably has one instar to go.

I have noticed lately that the milkweed plants are mostly strangely devoid of insects, which is weird because not only do they have a fair number of specific insects (milkweed beetles, milkweed bugs, milkweed caterpillars–okay, there have been plenty of the caterpillars), but they are popular with a lot of other non-specialist bugs. It's weird to see them without bugs on them. So it was fun to spot this plant, with four different bugs, from four different orders, all close together. Monarch caterpillar (Lepidoptera), Cricket (near the top of the stem, Orthoptera), Ant (Hymenoptera), and Weevil (Coleoptera).