What's the Buzz?

Today we're more about quality than quantity. I found a really good bug for Backyard Bug of the Day, and it was involved in a brief moment of drama as a bonus.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. Just kidding, though, this is not the best picture...

 Neither is this. I took 88 pictures today, and 55 of them were of this moth. Most of them are worthless. Some of them are okay. A couple are pretty good. I am going to show you more than I probably should, because I think they might give you a sense of what it's like to see this moth in an area full of blooms for it to feed on.

 Wings so fast you can't see them here!

 I heard this moth before I saw it. It makes quite a loud buzz as it flies, so when I heard the buzz, I looked around to find out what was making it. I was thrilled when I found out what it was. My lifetime sightings of these moths are not numerous. This is the second time I have seen on this summer, though, but the first time I didn't even get a chance to take a picture. (And speaking of buzzing, I went to an outdoor concert today, which had an extra accompaniment of a cicada in a tree nearby. I haven't heard any at my house yet, though. I did hear a tree cricket tonight).

 Very funny, Moth.

 If you ever see one of these moths you will understand why it is called a hummingbird moth; you can probably tell just by looking at it, but when you see it in motion, it moves just like a hummingbird. It's really fast, too, and sometimes you can't even see it well enough to know that it was a moth, and not a hummingbird, that flew right past your face. But one thing I think is really a nice detail is the fuzziness at the back of the moth that looks a lot like the feathers of a bird's tail.

 Check out that proboscis!

 Here's the moment of drama. This huge wasp swooped in and chased the moth away! It came back shortly after, and was chased away again, zooming directly over my head. After that the wasp did a few laps around the flowerbed and then flew off. This is the only picture I got of the wasp.

When we got home last night it was well after midnight, so the bugs that had gathered around the porch light are considered bugs for today. Random Bugs:

 I don't think I have ever seen this moth before. It's about half an inch long, maybe less.

 Beetle

 Green lacewing

 

 Stinkbug

And in the backyard today:

 Flower Longhorn Beetle

 This is the first female gypsy moth I have seen. Yes, it's a dead moth, on the ground. When I started taking pictures of it, I saw it move, and thought maybe it was alive after all, but then I realized that it was moving because there were ants under the wings.

Bug Spotting In The Wider World

I went to a wedding this evening, and it proved to me that I am somewhat bug-obsessed. Because I noticed that a dragonfly flew over the happy couple's heads as they said their vows, and during dinner I was watching the fireflies outside the window.

Because of the wedding, I am very late getting to writing this blog, so I am not going to say much, but I did get up early this morning so that I would be able to do a bug walk before we had to leave (the wedding was in the evening, but a long drive away), and so... here it is. The result of my early rising.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Flower longhorn beetle. I don't know what species.  Obviously this is the time of year for longhorn beetles, and I don't just say that because I posted two yesterday. Facebook "shared a memory" today of this date two years ago, and it was two flower longhorn beetles that were Backyard Co-Bugs of the Day that day.

Here's another one from today that was much less cooperative (you'll see why I say that), and therefore doesn't get to share the BBotD title today:

I'm not even sure if this is a flower longhorn beetle. This is the best look I got.

Random Bugs:

 Fly

 Tree cricket

 

 You can tell from the underdeveloped wings that it is not fully mature.

 I love the dragon-ish face of tree crickets.

 Another, smaller, even less mature tree cricket on a leaf near the first one.

 I know I have posted pictures of candy striped leaf hoppers many times before, but this is the first time I have seen one pose its legs like this. When I spotted it, it was using its rear legs to rub its head. Then it did this, which I thought might be meant as an intimidating gesture toward me, like Japanese beetles do. But as I said, I have never seen one do this, so I don't know.

 Buffalo tree hopper. First adult I have seen this year. Actually, I take that back - I think I saw some in early spring. So... first one I have seen in months. Possibly one of this year's nymphs matured?

 Bee and beetle in lily

 Flies

 The elusive swallowtail (that is my descriptor, not the name of the species of swallowtail).

 I like this bad picture because it shows the position of the wings in mid-flap.

 I went outside to get food for the eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar that I adopted, and on the host tree I found another eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar, this one in its final instar. I brought it in the house, and I know that it is getting ready to pupate because it did one of the things caterpillars do to get ready for that - it emptied out its digestive system.

There's no spider in this web, so I assume no one will be freaked out by the picture. I have no idea what the decision process is for spiders when they are choosing a place to build a web, but I think this is probably a good place. This is a knot in a tree trunk where I often find bugs, so it seems like a sure bet for catching bugs in a web. You can see one hopper's remains there.

The Beetles

Today had all the elements aligned for a bad bug walk: hot, gross weather, rain, a late start (dusk was approaching when I finally had a chance to go out), which meant lack of time and low light... But it was a pretty good bug walk after all. I didn't find a lot of bugs, but it wasn't just the usual suspects. And I have 2 bugs for Backyard Bug of the Day, one of them at least being a new species for me, so that right there makes it a good bug walk. I had a pretty rough day, and a rougher week, so it was nice that the bugs were able to cheer me up.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

 Both of today's Backyard Co-Bugs of the Day are longhorn beetles, but they are visually quite different from each other. I found this one on the side of a tree during my bug walk. I almost didn't bother to look closely at it because I thought it was something else (I forget what I thought it was), and the light was so poor in the woods that it didn't seem worth it. But it was, because I am pretty sure I have never seen this bug before. Someone on that bug group I follow on facebook posted the same kind of bug today, and someone else told them what it was, so I know it is a Astylopsis macula. That's all I know about it, though.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #2:

 I did not find this on my bug walk, I found it on the wall of the front porch late in the evening when we were on our way out to get some dinner. The light had only been on for a couple of minutes when it showed up. I don't know the species of this one, but I am sure it is a longhorn beetle, because it looks like the other longhorn beetles. And it has really long antennae (not horns).

 

 Here's a sense of scale for you. Quite a large beetle.

Random Bugs:

 I am not sure this candy striped leaf hopper understands how camouflage works.

 This could have been a candidate for BBotD if I had been able to get a better picture.

 I don't think I was aware that sow bugs are predators.

 Red milkweed beetle. I guess this milkweed is going to be a late bloomer. Better late than never, I say.

 Springtail

 

 Some sort of Hemiptera

 The picture doesn't show it well, but its proboscis was stuck into the tree, presumably sucking sap. I am impressed that that tiny proboscis is strong enough to penetrate bark, even bark like this tree (which is quite smooth. Not that that means much, I suppose. But I think it's pretty thin).

 I think this is a bristletail.

 Two bugs - bristletail and springtail.

 

 I'm giving you several views because it was not exceptionally cooperative, and it was hard to get the whole thing in focus.

 Assassin bug nymph

Arachnid Appreciation:.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

I know it looks like it's smiling, but those are all eyes.