Chill

 Another day when I did not expect to do a bug walk, because it was raining, and when I went out after the rain stopped figured that it was pointless to do so, because it was cold, and yet, I found a lot of bugs. A LOT. Most of them were the same kind, but we'll get to that in a minute...

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

Wasp, I think a species of Ichneumon. You wouldn't know it from reading this blog, but I do see these from time to time. They just never want to sit still for pictures. The cold seems to have temporarily made this one cooperative, but it did ultimately fly away before I finished getting the shots I wanted.

Now, back to the other issue... It was raining this morning when I woke up, and though the forecast did say it would only rain in the morning, around noon it was still going, and I just assumed it would keep up all day. No bug walk, I figured. But it did stop, and I figured I might as well go out and look for bugs, but it had just barely reached 50ºF, and just stopped raining, so I didn't think I would be able to find any bugs. This would definitely be a time for a bug to curl up in whatever cozy shelter it found before the cold rain started to wait until nicer weather (which, by the way, will not be around for a while, but I digress).

So, out I went, and right by the pack porch steps is a rock with a bit of a dip in it that had a small puddle in it. For some reason, even though I have not seen any in a while, months, even, I decided to check the surface of the puddle for springtails. And that is where I found Backyard Co-Bugs of the Day #2 and #3:

Two species of springtails. Only one of them is obvious, I am sure, but there is a second species, and there are actually two individuals of that species in the picture. The blurry orange dot just above the back leg of the bigger springtail is a nymph,  and there's another nymph in the upper right corner.

A better look at the nymph in the upper right.

Springtails were aaaaaaaall over the place today. A couple more on that little puddle:

On dead flowers:

I have sometimes read that springtails are insects, and sometimes that they are not; something I read today said it has been decided that they are not, but it did not elaborate on what it is about them that makes them not insects. They are arthropods, though, and by the loose definition I use for bugs in terms of choosing Backyard Bug of the Day they still qualify. They like wet weather like today, and particularly cool, wet weather. They are going to love the next few days (but maybe not the snow that we might get. On the other hand, snow fleas are springtails, and they don't mind the snow, so some of the springtails will even like that. I didn't see any snowfleas today).

You'll have to look closely for this one. I wasn't trying to take a picture of the springtail, I was trying to take a picture of the dead flower. Springtails are decomposers, meaning they feed on dead plant matter, so a dead flower is a meal to them.

There were more on rocks:

On trees:

And on leaves... everywhere. I have often wondered where they are all of the rest of the time that I don't see them.

Other Bugs:

The cricket songs have much diminished of late, so if this female bush cricket is still looking to find a mate she is going to have a hard time of it.

Candy striped leaf hopper on a pretty, pink viburnum leaf

The cold weather makes bees sluggish, if they can be found at all. This poor bee seems to have been caught by the rain, with drops on his head and back end, and a big one right on its back.