New Buzz

There have been days when I have not posted a blog even though I did a bug walk, and even found bugs. But if all I find are bugs that are the same bugs I have been seeing every day for a month, I don't really feel like it's worth posting on a day like that. On a day like today, however, when nearly everything I have to post is something that is either completely new to me or the first I have seen this year, well, that I think is worth posting. There are still very few insects to be seen in my backyard lately, and I think that might be due to the low overnight temperatures. Even though it's in the 60s and 70s during the day, recently we've have overnight temperatures in the 30s, including one night when it was 34ºF when I went to bed-just two degrees above freezing. After a night like that, the bugs seem reluctant to come out, even when it's a beautiful, warm, sunny day. Fortunately, today there were several interesting bugs that came out in spite of last night chill.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

 A couple of days ago I was looking at the bumblebees in my field guide, and saw the tricolored bumblebee, and thought, "Why don't I ever see those in my backyard?" And then today, I saw one for the first time.

 It was not cooperative. It was fun to watch, though. I see a lot of bumblebees in the woods, I think because they live in holes under the leaf litter. It's fun to watch them bumbling along, flying low, their wing beats creating a stir in the leaf litter.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #2:

 I think this is an ichneumon wasp of some kind. I can't be sure if I have ever seen one before, though it's possible I haven't. It is certainly the first of this species that I have seen this year.

 Also first sightings of the year:

 Hopper nymph. The white fuzzy is a waxy secretion that extrudes in fluffy filaments.

There were several of them on this leaf. In the upper left of the picture you can see the exuvia (discarded exoskeleton) of one that has molted into a new instar.

 Leaf beetle. I really wanted to make this a Co-Bug of the day just because these are really hard to get decent picture of, but I decided to limit myself to two Co-BBofD.

It was a pretty beetly day, as a percentage of back yard bug representation:

 Flame colored beetle that was BBotD yesterday.

 

 I have seen these weevils on the sassafrass every day this week.

 On my walk in the woods, just on the edge of the woods, this butterfly fluttered by and landed in front of me:

 I think it's a pearl crescent.

I saw four frogs, at least three different species, on my walk in the woods today. I only got a picture of one:

The snake was not in its usual spot today, but we did see a snake on our woods walk. Backyard Reptile of the Day:
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 It was a baby. It slithered under the leaf litter...

 ... and then out again. It didn't like me following it, and got into this defensive posture. It's hard to be too afraid of such a small snake, but I was cautious, more cautious than the closeness of this picture probably appears. I think it is a baby garter snake, but I didn't get a really close look at it.