About halfway through my bug walk today I was ready to give up. All of the bugs I found were in the first few minutes of my bug walk, and halfway through I was frustrated about not finding things. Even the ones I found at the beginning were mostly caterpillars that I had already seen the last few days. Literally the same caterpillars, not just the same species but the exact specimens. I was in pain, having difficulty walking (long story), and did not want to keep on with this exercise in futility. I knew I wasn't going to find anything else. But I persevered. I kept looking for bugs, and not finding bugs, and then when I was almost all the way back to the house...
This beauty fluttered up and landed on a branch over my head. So the story has a happy ending, and perseverance is rewarded! Except I found nothing else during that walk, and couldn't even get a really good shot of this.
I didn't even find the Backyard Bug of the Day during my bug walk. I found it later when I was sitting on the back porch steps. Backyard Bug of the Day:
Cricket nymph on the barbecue grill.
And now, things you have seen before:
Question mark caterpillar
Double toothed prominent caterpillar
Here's a really challenging Bug Spotting test for you!
Can you see the caterpillar?
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There it is!
Loopers are everywhere:
I don't know how big black swallowtail caterpillars get before pupation, but a couple of them must be getting to that point:
I think this one has the final coloration, which is pretty spectacular.
This one is turning green, too, but not completely yet.
This one is much smaller than the others, but it has changed instars since yesterday and now looks more like the others.
I didn't find many bugs that were not caterpillars:
Not a good shot, but I wanted to post it anyway. Some kind of plant bug, I think. Hemiptera, anyway.
Stinkbug nymph
Hoppers on milkweed
The caterpillars that hatched yesterday aren't looking so good.
Arachnid Appreciation:
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