Leftovers

 Normally during a heat wave I won't go outside during the hottest part of the day, but I wanted to take pictures in the woods during daylight, so that's what I did today. I regretted it, because it was unpleasant, but I got the pictures I wanted, so I cannot repine too much. Well, actually, I can. But instead, I'll just show you why I went out in the stifling heat.

Backyard Exuviae of the Day:

Exuviae are the left-behind exoskeletons of insects and other arthropods when they shed. These are cicada exuviae. I don't think I have ever seen a cicada larva, only adult cicadas. That is in part because they spend most of their lives underground (up to 17 years for some species), and only come out when it is time to molt into adulthood. So they crawl up the trunk of a tree (or up whatever vertical surface they come upon, which in my backyard has included the legs of my picnic table in the past), burst out of their skin, expand their wings, and leave the old skin behind. Those old skins can cling to the surface where they emerged for months. I spotted these on my night hike last night, and just in case they DON'T hang there for months, I wanted to get pictures of them today. I think the eyes only look green because they are reflecting the tree canopy above. While I have heard cicadas recently, I have not actually seen any, but that's not unusual. I have only seen them in my backyard a handful of times in the nearly two decades I have lived here. These are annual cicadas, meaning they emerge every year, although I think (but I am not sure) that the individual larvae stay underground for more than one year. They just cycle up every year. Unlike the periodical cicadas, which come up in the millions, these come up in much smaller numbers. It was pretty surprising to me to see these two exuviae on trees nearby each other, unlike the periodicals, which will litter the ground with their castoff skins.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

Net-winged beetle

If you wait long enough while watching a net-winged beetle you will get this shot. Always. They flash their elytra a lot. In this case it was actually about to fly away, but they will often walk around on a leaf opening and closing their elytra. I don't know if they are signaling to other beetles, or if they are trying to intimidate me and make me back off.