The Bugs in the Backyard: Hypotheses

I developed a series of theories when I was doing my bug walk today. Actually, I think to be scientifically correct I should say I developed a series of hypotheses. The first is that the reason I have been having so much trouble finding bugs is because it is August, so they have all gone on vacation - except the bees, who are still hard at work. I have no way to test that hypothesis (except about the bees, who are certainly still hard at work), and no bugs have sent me a postcard, so there's no way to prove it. My next hypothesis was that the bugs are all playing hide and seek, and I am It.

There is some evidence for this one:

The next hypothesis was that I am just losing my touch, but I hope that is not the case. And anyway, I eventually found lots of bugs (I spent a long time on my bug walk today), so I guess everything is okay.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

This is one of those bugs that looks so much more amazing when you look at it up close (as in, through the macro lens) than when you look with the naked eye. I almost didn't bother to do that, I wasn't going to take its picture because it just looked like a black and beige leaf hopper. But I did, and I am glad I did! I had several other candidates for BBotD, but when I saw these pictures on the computer screen, I knew it had to be this one.

Flexing those wing covers.

I think this might actually be a species of borer. It's not in my book, though.

Backyard Bud of the Day is much more... boring.

Cucumber. From the garden. This part of the vine is growing through the fence, so, since this is outside the fence I guess you could say it's a wildflower.

Here's one of the caterpillars that almost became BBotD:

I am posting this because it's really cool, and it disappeared shortly after I took the picture, so who knows if I'll find it again?

Having complained about not being able to find bugs, I thought maybe this would be interesting:

Here is a goldenrod plant. On this goldenrod plant is a bee.

On the same plant, about 50 tiny beetles.

And two ambush bugs.

And whatever this gorgeous bug is.

And this. Which I cannot identify, but it looks like some kind of cocoon inside the leaf.

Also on that same plant were two spiders, but those I will post at the bottom, in Arachnid Appreciation. That was a lot of things on one goldenrod plant!

I spotted this today:

At first I thought there were two bugs here. But really it's just one.

Assassin bug nymph.

Assassin bug nymph's recently discarded exoskeleton.

Lots of bugs here:

It's interesting that there are all these aphids of different stages of development on the same leaf.

Also spotted on trees:

Really tiny cocoon. There were several of these on the trunk.

This tree had a branch about three feet long that had these webs all along it. It looked like it had been yarn bombed (look it up). I didn't see any kind of bug, though, and I don't know why it would be like that.

A couple of random bugs:

Consider this a teaser for a future BBotD. As in, if this bug ever cooperates and lets me take a good picture, it will get to be BBotD. It is a tree hopper.

Leaf hopper.

This bug was a BBotD candidate, but none of the pictures turned out well, because it wouldn't stop moving. I still liked this picture, though, bad as it is.

I haven't shown you a lot of flowers lately...