The Early Bug Gets...?

I think I have mentioned that I am not a morning person. I am not sure that statement conveys the true extent of how morning averse I am. The fact is, I get up around noon. I go to bed at a time many people would barely still consider night, and sleep all morning. I have my reasons. But today I had to get up to drive my husband to his carpool, and I got home around seven a.m. This time of year the sun is up at that time, so I decided to see what kind of bugs were up as well. I didn't know if it would be easier to find bugs, harder to find bugs, easier to photograph them because it was chilly still and they might be sluggish (not morning people either?). Mostly I was hoping to find some lethargic butterflies (didn't happen) or something cool covered with dew. Well, it wasn't very dewy this morning, but I did find some early bugs.

In fact, I found the Backyard Bug of the Day before I even went into the house to get my camera. Fortunately, it was willing to just sit around and wait for me to come out and take its picture.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

Ground beetle, I think. Even though it was not on the ground.

There were quite a few bugs out this morning. Not many wanted to sit still and have their picture taken, and well, that was just not going to happen for the cloud of gnats that swarmed around my head and followed me around the yard. I did manage to find a few bugs who were willing to smile and pose, though:

I think weevils are adorable, so you're getting two pictures of this one.

This might be an adult of the spittlebugs I was talking about yesterday. Or it might be just a leaf hopper, or tree hopper. To tell the truth, I am not clear on the distinctions. I know they are all related (true bugs, I think).

Cranefly

More sawfly larvae. They would appear to be different species. It's getting pretty crowded on that one leaf...

Another spittlebug/leaf hopper/tree hopper? I actually have no idea which is the front and which is the back on this one.

Okay, that's enough bugs for you for one day (but you can see how exciting my yard is in the early morning! That's only part of what I saw!). Time for some plants.

Backyard Bud of the Day:

And the Daily Dandelion:

It's no morning glory.

I've got a few nice blooms for you, though early in the morning is not the best time for flowers, I don't think - some of them close up for the night.
But a new iris bloomed:

 I think this is a different variety than the purple one that bloomed the other day. The color is darker and I think it's frillier. I didn't plant them, so I don't know anything about them.

I found a big bunch of cancer root, too - it's better looking in a bunch:

I had another reason besides curiosity for doing my bug walk at 7 in the morning, which was a forecast for rain. Yes, the sky was dark and gray, but we get lots of days that are gloomy with forecasts for rain, that end up being dry, but I thought maybe this time it was really going to happen, and it did start raining as I was photographing the irises, which ended my nature search and sent me back to bed. And it did rain most of the rest of the day (I had to go out later anyway), so it's a good thing I explored the morning. I have frequently wondered how mornings are different than afternoons, but I am mostly content just to wonder.

Before you ask, yes, today I got some good spider pics - more spider action!
Scroll down for the exciting moment...
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 Found a cool spider chillin' on its web. The air was calm, so the web was still and I was able to get a pretty decent picture (It's easier to get pictures of spiders from the side with no eyes. Just sayin'). You can see that it has some sort of prey in its jaws (I don't know the proper spider word for those mouth grippers).

About one second after I stood up from taking the picture, this little bug landed on the web and got trapped. The spider zoomed over to envenomate (I assume) and wrap it up. Notice it STILL has the other bug in its mouth. Also, if you look very closely you can see the silk coming from the spider's nether regions, and it is being manipulated by that lower leg, and then leads up to the bug.
Now, I can't be sure, but I like to think that this gnat was one that was tormenting me by following me around in a swarm around my head, and it got caught in the web when I was bending close to take the first picture. I know, that sounds petty and vindictive. But... Well, I have no response to that. Spider's gotta eat.

Tomorrow I think I will sleep in.