Refreshment

Ah, rain. We're getting a good soaking here, which we have been needing for a while. We're not having a drought, but rain has been kind of scarce for a while, and things have been getting kind of dry - the lawn is almost crispy. Or it was - after today I expect it to be quite refreshed.

While the current forecast puts my ability to look for bugs in the yard for the next couple of days in doubt, today I was able to do my bug walk before the rain came. I didn't get to finish, but I found what I needed to find.

So, without further ado, Backyard Bug of the Day:

 At first glance I thought this was a beetle of some kind ready to take flight, but when I really looked I saw it was a moth. I have never seen a moth like this.

 According to my bug book it is a species of Smoky Moth, specifically a Grapeleaf Skeletonizer, which is a reference to its eating habits as a caterpillar.  We have a lot of grapevines in the yard, so it's no surprise to find this here, though I can't say that I have noticed any grapeleaves that have been skeletonized.

 Check out the awesome antennae!

Backyard Bud of the Day:

I have one flower bed in my yard that is a semi-legitimate garden bed, in that I actually plant things there (they don't always grow). I found several of these growing there in the spring, and was puzzled about where they came from, until I had a vague recollection that someone gave me some plants from their garden, and I planted them there. However, I don't remember who gave them to me (either a neighbor or my mother-in-law), or what they are. But it looks like they will have flowers soon!

Here is a former Backyard Bud of the Day, blooming a bit:

The balloon flower is blooming, too:

This is not what the balloon flower looks like; it is actually more blue than this, but for some reason pictures of it always come out more purple.

I found this interesting bug:

 It looks a lot like a mosquito with fuzzy wings. I don't know what that orange appendage is, though it could be an ovipositor. Which would mean it's not a mosquito, because they lay their eggs in water.

 It could be a male mosquito of some kind, because they don't drink blood, they drink plant nectars, but then that would definitely NOT be an ovipositor (it's not in this picture - obviously it's retractable, whatever it is).

Nice proboscis.

Nice ladybug:

Something weird:

 Can you see its little eye peering at you?

 Leaf hopper.

 Beetles. I think that is a drop of milkweed sap on her back.

Moth on the window this evening. I don't know why it is sitting there getting rained on. There are certainly places it could take shelter.

The baby birds are getting some wing feathers:

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Waiting to ambush something, having no idea there's someone behind it...