Good Timing

July 10, 2014

It's a good thing I finally got around to giving the caterpillars their day yesterday, because when I went out this afternoon, two of them were gone, and then later another one was gone. It is possible they wandered of on their own, wanting different food, or to find a place to pupate (though they didn't look big enough for that to me), and it is also possible that they are still on the tree, and I just couldn't find them (but not likely. It is a very small tree). It is also possible that something ate them even though they look like bird poop. I will probably never know, and even now I am wondering if the fourth one is still out there.

However, when I first went out to see them today, I found this:

The bigger one is one of the ones from yesterday, and it disappeared later. But I am happy to see the small one! It has to have been around yesterday, too, I just didn't see it! Anyway, in the time between when I took this picture and when I finished painting the trim on my house (less than two hours later), the bigger caterpillar disappeared without a trace.

I found this on the same tree, though, in a curled up leaf:

A caterpillar in the process of pupating? It's a different species of caterpillar than the others, though.

Here's how the painting went:

 I had barely put three strokes of paint on the trim when this hapless bug came by. It didn't survive the ordeal.

This caterpillar was hanging from the trim by a thread, so it didn't get painted, but I had to pull the thread off, and boy, it was surprisingly strong!

A spider also walked through the paint, but it was able to get out on its own with just a couple of blue legs. It disappeared before I could get the camera, so obviously it was able to walk well enough.

There are Co-Bugs again today, for the usual reasons...

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

 I think this is a katydid, but it might be a grasshopper. This is how it was when I found it.

 Here I have turned to leaf over to get a better look. I am surprised it didn't flee.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #2 doubles as a demonstration of Backyard Bug Behavior:

 I don't think I have seen this kind of bug before, or if I have, it was smaller than this (though this was probably only a little bigger than about an eighth of an inch across).

 What caught my eye was not just the cool bug, though, but the thing stuck on the front of it.

 Here we have a Hemiptera with its proboscis actually stuck into its prey. I am pretty sure I could see it sucking. Kind of gross, I know, but still, it is interesting to see bugs doing the things they do, other than just sitting on leaves.  By the way, that would be me reflected in its shiny carapace - though at this magnification (I zoomed in on the picture, my camera doesn't get THAT close), you can see that the carapace is textured, not smooth as it appears from a distance.

 It walked all over the leaf with that thing stuck on its proboscis.

So, what is it eating, you ask? Well, I found it on the plant where those beetles hatched recently...

Here are the remaining larvae/nymphs (I don't know which these are), huddled together for protection, I assume.

And speaking of eggs:

Only one left unhatched. Interesting that the beetles are all still hanging out on the same plant where they hatched (though their hatching leaf has been eaten), but whatever these were, they have completely dispersed. And just to prove I am not totally bug crazy, I did not stick around to see if the last one would hatch. I do have other things to do with my life...

Now for Bonus Bugs:

 Scorpionfly. This was BBotD a while ago. It's called scorpionfly because of the way its body is curled (which you can't see), but I think it looks more like the character in Star Wars that tells the storm troopers that Luke and Company are leaving on the Millennium Falcon.

 Another thorn plant hopper.

 Rare side view of a moth, perched on the porch light.

 Also from the porch tonight.

Beetles. 3 of them.

Backyard Bud of the Day:

Balloon flower. You can probably tell why it's called that. Probably the best bud - I have been waiting for this one...

In case you are wondering, The Caterpillar has been transferred to the caterpillar enclosure I made a couple of years ago for the monarchs I was raising, and for the polyphemus moth to overwinter in on the back porch. It has stopped sulking and moved onto the fresher leaves I put in there... It doesn't seem to have built a new hammock in the last couple of days, though - its last hammock leaf dried up.

Also, I finally got a look at the parent bird of the babies in the strawberry pot. It definitely seems to be some kind of wren.

Oh, and speaking of caterpillars!

 We were driving along the highway this evening and I spotted this little caterpillar on the side view mirror. It was getting whipped around by the wind, but I was afraid if I tried to lift it off and bring it into the car, the wind would take it. So it stayed there for the hour and a half we were in the car.

It was able to crawl off on its own when we arrived, so I guess it was fine. It had made a little patch of silk on the mirror, just like The Caterpillar used to make before it learned how to make a full hammock.

Now, Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Really cool web! It's like it took decorating advice from The Caterpillar, and added its own flair.

Hiding in the shingles on the roof when I was painting.