Look at That!

I imagine it will be a big shock to no one if I say that I am a huge fan of nature.  But up until a couple of years ago my observations of nature were pretty much all second hand - wildlife documentaries, books - someone else made the observations, and I just watched or read what they had seen. But now, in my small way, I get to make some observations of my own of nature happening, and you know what? It's pretty exciting. Even the little things I get to see in my tiny corner of the world are exciting because they are more real when you see them yourself.

Not that I am seeing grizzly bears or blue whales or anything. But the time I was sitting on the porch and a chipmunk ran out from under the porch and stopped on the step for a few seconds and looked at me with its cheeks stuffed full of food, I got pretty excited. Of course I knew that chipmunks stuffed their cheeks full of food, but I had never seen it happen before in real life.

No, I did not get a picture.

I know you didn't come here for a lecture, you came here for pictures of bugs, and I promise, I am getting to that. The point is, it's pretty exciting to see nature in action, even if it is doing something kind of mundane.

So, the other day with the caterpillar drama I talked about the caterpillar's defense mechanism of dropping itself off the leaf when the ant came by. So much of what happens in nature is about not getting eaten by the rest of nature. The caterpillar knew that the first rule of self defense is conflict avoidance. But there are other ways of avoiding conflict with a creature that wants to eat you - for instance, looking like something that it doesn't want to eat. A lot of bugs do that.

What's weird is how many of them look like bird poop.

Presenting Backyard Bug of the Day:

So maybe you're thinking, "That doesn't look like bird poop." But you were already prepared to see that it's not bird poop by the fact that I told you it's the Backyard Bug of the Day. Trust me, in the wild, at first sight it doesn't look quite as much like a moth. Which is what it really is.

Up close it's really quite pretty - it's partly blue! And it was fairly cooperative, too, which is a big plus.

I really like moths.

As for this disguise, yes, there really are other bugs that disguise themselves as bird poop - there is at least one other moth (that I have seen), and I have seen pictures of caterpillars, too, that look like bird droppings. The funny thing is, I have also seen other bugs eating bird poop. I imagine there is a certain amount of disgruntlement involved when those bugs encounter one of the bugs that disguise themselves this way (and I know I make it sound like they said, "Hey! I know what I can do to keep from being eaten by a frog - look like bird poop!" And then they went to a costume shop and got a bird poop costume, and yes, I know this was not a conscious decision on their part, but just go with my semantics here). I imagine someone goes off in a huff, and someone else shouts after them, "Sorry! My bad! I thought you were something else!" Which in the end might be just as insulting, so I guess it's good that bugs are not quite so self-aware as I portray them to be when I am anthropomorphizing...

Anywaaaaaaay...

Let's do some more anthropomorphizing, but let's make it even more ridiculous and do it with plants!

I think the dandelion on the left is jealous - and maybe feeling a bit of schadenfreude about his friend's bald spot...

No?

Okay, Backyard Bud of the Day:

Iris. Now I am sorry, but I am not going to be able to keep myself from making a really bad joke here...

I like big buds and I cannot lie.

So, after complaining yesterday that everything in nature is so uncooperative, not only did I find a very accommodating moth, but I found a fairly cooperative bird, too, so...

Backyard Bird of the Day:

Rose breasted grossbeak. It doesn't just look gorgeous, but it sings beautifully, too. This is the male - the female looks quite different, as I recall - much more drab (as is common with birds) and a completely different color scheme. I caught a glimpse of what I think was the female, but didn't get a picture.

Remember the sawfly larvae? I posted a video of one yesterday, and a while ago posted pics of others? (The reason they look so different is because there are many kinds of sawflies, apparently, and the larvae look different depending on the species). The ones on the bush out front are getting bigger, and are now doing something that's not quite the ninja thing I am looking for, but it's still funny:

 Calmly dining on needles (and can I just say this does not look like the best way for everyone to get fed? There's a lot of needles on this bush. You don't all need to be on the same one).

Intruder alert! (I tapped the end of the needle. Seriously, their eyesight stinks).

Here's some more:

Yeah, you look tough now.

And now for your Arachnid Appreciation picture for today:
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I love spiders that look like they are wearing striped socks.

Now, go outside and observe nature doing what it does!