A Different Day

 Today was not like yesterday. Obviously the fact that I didn't wear my boots on my walk in the woods, and therefore did not go wading into the pond means I did not get pictures of anything swimming in there today, but even considering that, the number of insects I saw today in both my backyard and the woods was significantly lower. I don't know why, obviously, because I never know why, particularly comparing two days that were very alike in most ways. Even places I expected to find bugs, for instance, on the tree with the weird sappy/fungusy goop on it, were not forthcoming. Ah, well. Nature does what it wants.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 

Sawfly, I think. Which is not a fly, but a stingless wasp.

My husband spotted this fascinating scene between the picnic table and the vegetable garden:

There was a huge mass of ants on the grass, covering every blade in this little clump. A line of ants led to and from a small anthill next to the raised garden bed, and there were several other ant hills just beside this mass.

A fascinating, writhing mass.

I didn't take pictures in the pond today, but I took pictures of the pond:

No crystal clear waters here.

Fly on false hellebore. I wonder if this is the same species I saw on a false hellebore yesterday, and what it is that attracts them to it.

 Here's a bug spotting test for you:

 

Moth, blending in very nicely with the tree bark.

Arachnid Appreciation:

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