The Bugs in the Backyard: Scurry

Hmmm... what do I have to say about the bugs in my backyard today, or nature in general, or anything?

Nothing, really.

I am going to break the rule that says I have to have a good picture of a bug for it to be Backyard Bug of the Day because I don't have a good picture, but I am pretty sure it's a new bug for me, and though I don't like to reward uncooperative bugs with this honor, I may never see this bug again, and am very unlikely to get a good picture ever. So...

Backyard Bug of the Day:

I think this might be a burying beetle, a kind of carrion beetle, specifically Nicrophorus orbicollis. I saw it on a walk in the woods after dark; we had been working in the woods until dusk, and when we were done I wanted to take the long way back to the house for the exercise (and because I enjoy walking in the woods), so it was dark well before I got back. This landed right in front of me as I walked, in the beam of my flashlight. Personally, I am of the opinion that any bug that is so unafraid of me that they fly right by my face should be more chill about me taking their picture, but they almost never are. This one acted in typical beetle fashion, scurrying under things to avoid being looked at. Flashlight + cellphone + uncooperative insect don't get you good closeups, but I think it's a pretty cool looking beetle, and fairly big as local beetles go. I am not going to tell you what I read about it in Kaufman's Field Guide to Insects of North America, because most of it's pretty gross (it is a carrion beetle, after all), except to mention that they "exhibit extensive parental care." There's something endearing about insects that look after their young.

Other Bugs:

Ailanthus webworm moth

I found this pair of candy striped leaf hoppers on a milkweed leaf. They were not happy when I got close with the camera...

Often insects in the act of mating are able to move around together, walking, or even flying. I have always wondered about the power dynamics–are they really working together, or is one making the decisions while the other just gets pulled along? I got an answer regarding this pair.

I only found one monarch caterpillar this afternoon, and then when I looked for it as I walked past in the evening it was gone. I checked the nearby milkweed and couldn't find it. I choose to believe that this was its final meal before taking off to find a place to become a chrysalis–which is what I think is where the other one went as well. I wish I could find a chrysalis in the wild; I have never seen one other than the ones in my house when I have raised caterpillars.

Cockroach

I know people hate cockroaches, but not all cockroaches are kitchen invaders that make people sick. Some of them are lovely decomposers that are an important part of woodland ecosystems.

When I got back from my night walk in the woods I checked out the autumn sedum bed with my flashlight and then decided to go in the house to get my camera.

There were two main themes for the autumn joy sedum bed: Moths fluttering their wings like mad, and sleeping bumblebees.

There were other moths, too.

But there were three of these, on different plants, and while they crawled around feeding they fluttered their wings, really fast. I am just now wondering about flight, and take-off, and why these moths didn't go airborne while their wings were flapping so vigorously.

A different species of moth, and a mosquito

Another mosquito. Most of the time, mosquitoes feed on nectar. I think this is a female, and if this is a biting species then she will seek a blood meal because she will need protein so she can lay eggs (or something like that. This is a good time to remind you that I am not an entomologist. Don't use anything you read on this blog in your science report).