Courtship

It's been hot lately. It never rains anymore. I think the month of July arrived about a month early. I can no longer entertain the possibility that the reason I am finding so few bugs is due to cold overnights, because the nights are not cold anymore.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

Leaf bug of some kind, I think.

Other Bugs:

Robber flies. I have been seeing a lot of these lately.

Hopper nymph

I found a couple of different insect eggs:

This was on the bottom of a leaf. At least, I am assuming it is an insect egg.

I have still never been able to find out what kind of egg this is.

A couple of sweat bees:

By the way, now that wearing masks is all the rage, I have designed a few with pictures of insects and spiders from this blog, which you can find here. I think they are some wild, attention-getting designs, if you're bold enough to walk around with a picture of a giant spider over your face.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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I came across an interesting scene:

This is a bowl and doily spider web. In the middle of all of this is the owner of the web, a female bowl and doily spider. There are four male spiders on the web, each obviously a hopeful suitor.

One moved close to the female. She didn't react. For a lot of spiders, courtship involves the male convincing the female to accept his genetic contribution without eating him, so it's a cautious process. Ignoring him is better than devouring him for a start.

Another moved closer–it's blurry in the background. I was there for a few minutes, and this standoff remained when I left.

The spider that lives in the package bin. I am expecting a package tomorrow, but it is something that I am supposed to sign for, so hopefully the spider will remain undisturbed because the mailman will bring the package to the door.