A Bug Bonanza

The thought has occurred to me that maybe there is a connection between the number of spiders in the backyard and my difficulty finding bugs... But I am sure that's not the case. There have always been a lot of spiders. Also, there really are a lot of bugs, just lately it's sometimes been hard to find them. And there really are a lot less on the milkweed this year. I am still going to say it's the lack of rain. And this coming week is supposed to be hot, too... I am not looking forward to that.

I found a real beauty of a Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This is definitely a hairstreak butterfly, but I don't know enough about them to actually identify species. From my book it looks like the red-banded hairstreak, but the book says those are found in the southeast, and this is not the southeast. However, bugs don't necessarily follow those kind of rules, so it could be. Some species of hairstreaks have a tiny little curl at the bottom of their wings. So cute - and so often broken on one or both wings. It must be decorative, and not necessary for flying. But given how mangled butterfly wings can be while still remaining flight worthy, that's not surprising.

Hairstreaks do this fun little thing where they rub their wings back and forth against each other, giving a quick glimpse of the dorsal side of the wing, without opening up their wings. It's a bit maddening when you want to really see the dorsal side - which I always do, because with hairstreaks (and actually with a lot of butterflies), that side is prettier. In this case obviously a lot prettier to my taste, because it's blue. I didn't get to see more than this peek, though.

Backyard Bud of the Day:

It turns out I found a LOT of bugs today. It didn't seem like that at the time, but now that I have gone through the files, it's a lot. So, brace yourself for a lot of bugginess.

First, a ladybug with a problem:

I don't know what that is all over its back. I looked up what ladybug eggs are like, in case maybe they carry them on their backs, but they don't, they lay them on the bottom of leaves. This looks like an infestation of some kind.

Actually, it was, in general, not a good day for ladybugs in the backyard today:

 I debated making this assassin bug nymph the BBotD, because this is a really good picture of it, but then I found the butterfly, so... Some day soon, assassin bug... Anyway, sometimes with Hemiptera it is hard to tell if they are plant suckers or assassins. And sometimes it's easy.

I love these assassin bugs because they look like Dr. Seuss designed them. And the first time I saw one two years ago it was another one of those moments when I was shocked to find something this outrageous in my backyard. Not the beginnings of wings on the nymph. It's a pretty good sized nymph, so I don't think it has a lot more size to gain, but definitely those wings need some work.

Moths in the wild:

 My vision is not completely based on movement... In real life this moth blended in better than this picture makes it appear.

I'm feeling pretty good about my noticing skills for having spotted two of these in one day.

Daily dose of hoppers:

 I haven't seen such a bright candy striped leaf hopper in a while.

Speaking of things I haven't seen...

In the last couple of days I have spotted some milkweed plants that have obvious evidence of caterpillars... but no caterpillars.

 Assassin bug yoga.

 So many bugs disregard the rule that if you land on me, you have to sit still for a picture...

Another cartoony katydid - different view this time. Even cartoonier.

 This might be a sawfly. Anyway, it's very interesting to see it fly - just a blur of red.

 Another bug with wings under construction.

Japanese beetle rugby scrum. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

 I think this is a caterpillar, but it's a little hard to tell if it has the right number of prolegs. I'll see if I can spot it again as it gets bigger, and maybe it will be easier to tell.

 Blending in.

Cocoon on the side of a tree. I can't tell if whatever built the cocoon wanted those flecks in there, or if stuff just got caught.

And now it's time to appreciate some arachnids! There's several worthy of Arachnid Appreciation:
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 More backyard comedy. Yes, spider, I can still see you.

 I found this one hiding in a rolled up leaf.

 This one is playing that game where you curl up small and think it makes you invisible.

 This one just is small. Really, really, really small.

 More free hugs!

Except when I got closer with my camera, all of a sudden it was not so interested in hugging me.