Day and Night

July 5, 2014

We went to the fireworks tonight, and came home to find about a million bugs on the front porch, attracted by the light. Okay, it was probably closer to a hundred than a million, but still, it was a lot of bugs. It was almost midnight, and I was out there for about fifteen minutes looking at the bugs, and taking pictures. Then I came inside, and the bug that I wanted to make Backyard Bug of the Day was photographed at 12:05. That means it can't be Backyard Bug of the Day for today, it has to wait until tomorrow. So, I have to choose something else. Fortunately, even without the moths and beetles and tree hoppers on the porch, I have other options.

So, here's Backyard Bug of the Day:

 A weevil. I keep finding weevils, and they keep getting outclassed by other bugs for BBotD, but today is the day for the weevil. I think weevils are adorable. They look so primitive.

 In fact, a lot of times they look like blobs of dirt with legs, but this one has a nice pattern and texture on its back.

It can be hard to get pictures of them, because they use a very popular bug defense, which is to let go of what they are hanging onto and drop off, playing dead. But sometimes they let me get close enough with the camera.

Backyard Bud of the Day:

Here's an update on the pokeweed buds.

This bug has been BBotD before, and I still think it's beautiful because it is blue, but I also think it is beautiful here because you can see a reflection of the sky and the trees on its carapace.

 Bedstraw after blooming. Who says plants need flowers to be interesting to look at?

Here's a look at what I almost made BBotD... and maybe will another day:

And a selection of moths from the porch:

 These were all taken before midnight, so they count for today.

Okay, and one leaf hopper from the porch, too. These leaf hoppers were really, really tiny.

I found something charming in the yard today:

A bird has laid eggs in the hanging basket where my strawberries were growing. I haven't had a good look at the bird, but I think it might be a wren of some kind. I have been startled by the bird several times when I was in that part of the yard, and wasn't sure what it was doing, or where it was coming from, but today I spotted these tiny, speckled eggs. So I guess I have to avoid that part of the yard for a while.

And speaking of adorable, time for Arachnid Appreciation!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

 What's this?

 Baby spiders!!!

 So many baby spiders!!!

 They kind of look like grass spiders, but it's hard to tell.

 There were several threads that they all seemed to be following. I believe the protocol is to try to get up high, to the top of plants, and then put out a thread to be caught by the wind and carried away. One put out a thread that landed on my lens, and the spider tried climbing up it! I deposited it back on the plant.

 They appear to have come from here - there was a web kind of draped around some bunched together leaves.