The Bugs in the Backyard: A Red Letter Bug Day

Most days I go for my bug walk in the afternoon, because I just don't do mornings, and because daytime is when you can see. But if for some reason I can't go for a bug walk during the day, there is still a way to get to see bugs on the porch light after dark. Or, find bugs that glow in the dark. And yes, there are times I turn on the porch light just to attract bugs - not necessarily because I didn't get to go for a bug walk, but because there are bugs I only see when they are attracted to the porch light. And sometimes we go out at night, and when we come home the porch is full of visitors with 6 or more legs. (Which is something I have always wondered about, because I don't understand why bugs would feel drawn to the porch light when there is no natural equivalent to that behavior). Of course, usually when that happens it's too late for whatever I see to become Backyard Bug of the Day, because it's late. But sometimes, it's actually early (as in, after midnight), so I get my Backyard Bug of the Day all squared away before the day is even an hour old.

Okay, this is boring, let's get on to the point.

We went out last night, leaving the porch light on, and didn't get home until just before one o'clock in the morning. As we were walking from the car, on our very dark, not at all lit driveway, I saw a glow on the ground. I assumed it was a firefly, though it was a steady glow, not a flash (I guess some fireflies do that, actually), and pretty early for fireflies around here, especially with the late spring we've had. So, I went in the house to get my camera, noticing that there were some moths and other bugs on the porch.

It turned out that the glow on the driveway (which is gravel and therefore has plants growing on it) was not a firefly - or not an adult firefly anyway. It was a firefly larva, also known in this part of the world as a glowworm. I was pretty excited to discover this, because I had never seen one before. Unfortunately, it didn't glow brightly enough for me to take a picture of that, but with the light on my camera I did get this:

It's a bit blurry because it was moving pretty fast.

I think it's the underneath part that glows.

The whole underneath area, not like the adult firefly where it's just the back end. Adult fireflies glow/flash lights to attract mates, but evidently in larvae it's to warn predators that they are toxic.
(I did a little research to find out if this really was a firefly larva. And in my research I found out that firefly larvae eat slugs, which is another good reason to like fireflies).

I also got this picture, which, though not at all a good picture, has a certain humor to it, and at least shows the glow.

All very exciting for a backyard bug afficionado. But perhaps you have noticed that I did not designate this glowworm, the first one I have ever seen, as Backyard Bug of the Day. It's not because it's still a larva, because larva are eligible for Backyard Bug of the Day status. I am willing to give the glowworm the title of Backyard Bug of the Day Runner Up. But that is all I can do. Because I found another bug that hands down wins the prize today.

Allow me to continue my story.

While I was taking pictures of the glowworm the rain that had been threatening for days finally decided to fall, so I had to go inside. And as soon as I got to the porch I saw this. My holy grail of bugs. The one I have been looking for for two years. The bug of my dreams.

Behold, Backyard Bug of the Day:

Luna moth!!!

This may not seem exciting to you if you see luna moths all the time, but this is only the second time in my life I have seen one in real life. The last time was 18 years ago. I have been wanting to see a luna moth in my yard for as long as I have had a yard, and have really wanted to make the luna moth Backyard Bug of the Day. I don't know if they are actually rare, but obviously it is very rare for me to see one. And it is just an amazing bug. It's huge, it's bright green, it's gorgeous. It's also interesting - it has no digestive system in its adult form - not even a mouth - and it will go it's entire two weeks of life-as-a-moth without eating. When it emerges from its cocoon it mates, lays eggs (if it's a female) and dies (not right after mating/laying eggs, but when uses up all its stored energy, I guess).

I have seen other bugs in the last two years that blew me away with their coolness, but in a lot of cases those were bugs I never knew existed until I saw them, so it's not the same kind of excitement as seeing this one that I have been hoping to see forever.

Yes, I teared up a little bit when I saw it.

This is a male luna moth, as evidenced by the really wild, frondy antennae. (I know frondy is not a word. You knew what I meant). Check out those pink legs!
Here's a little bit of size perspective for you:

Happy sigh. I went to bed a very happy bug fan.

However, if you that achieving my bug-spotting dreams meant there was nothing that could entice me outside today, you are wrong. Just about the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes this morning and looked out the skylight over my bed was a sky filled with flying fuzz...

Click Here for Flying Fuzzies

Who knew tree seeds had so much charm?
Of course, the owner of this web probably doesn't find it so charming:

But I do.

This happens for a day or two every spring when this tree (I have no idea what tree it is, of course) goes to seed and sends its hopes off into the world floating on bits of cottony fluff. Usually in the end it looks like there's a light dusting of snow on the ground when all the fluff lands, but not so much this year. I guess more of it traveled on the winds this time.

The oak trees are coming into bloom, which, given their tiny, entirely un-spectacular flowers is not so exciting, especially if you are allergic to tree pollen (ahem - achoo!), but when you really look at them the flowers are kind of cute.

Speaking of oak trees, I went to an elementary school called Oak Hill School, and all of the quads (it was an open space school - it was the 70s) were named after species of oak trees: red oak, white oak, black oak, pin oak, swamp oak, and I think willow oak. Unfortunately, identification of said oak species was not part of the curriculum so I have no idea which are which, but I wonder, is this a red oak? And is it called red oak because of the color of its leaves in the spring? Because they pretty much all turn brown in the fall, so that's not the reason for the names. I know they have different shaped leaves, I just wonder about the ones with color names... I suppose this is something I could look up somewhere...

Here's some wood sorrel for Backyard Bud of the Day:

And something that will NEVER, EVER, EVER be Backyard Bug of the Day:

Tick. Not cool. I'm only posting in case you have never seen one, and you plan to go outside and need to know what the enemy looks like.

On a more agreeable subject, Daily Dandelion:

And the Canada mayflowers are blooming:

Ferns are unfurling:

The iris are coming along. We have them in two colors:

Yellow...

And purple.

Okay, here's a bonus bug for you. I can't remember if this has been BBotD before, but I thought this was a good picture, so I am using it today.

Now for our Arachnid Appreciation of the Day. Definitely not ones you want to see if you are afraid of spiders. So I'll give you some space...
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This spider was obliging enough to give me two poses: