Try Not to Breathe

Big news for the bugs in the backyard - and for me! As part of my quest to convince people that bugs are cool, and not just things that should be squished, I asked my local library if I could mount an exhibit of some of my bug pictures at the library (they put on photography exhibits occasionally in the community room there), and today I got the go-ahead! The unfortunate thing is that they want it for September, which doesn't give me much time to prepare (and I won't be able to get it installed until the middle of next week), but at least I am getting this chance to show people some of the gorgeous and amazing bugs I find in my backyard. And maybe at least one person will change their minds about bugs being nothing but icky. It could happen. My pictures on facebook have changed some minds about bugs. In fact, my own mind was changed - I used to think bugs were nothing but icky, too. So, here's to the Bugs in the Backyard!

Of course, now I have to choose pictures for this thing. There's always a downside...

But first things first! Choosing a Backyard Bug of the Day! We had an Air Quality Alert for today, which, if you are an asthmatic like me, means you don't want to go outside. I did, for the sake of the bugs, but it turns out they didn't want to be outside in the icky air, either, because I didn't find nearly as many as the last 2 days. So, as far as the bugs are concerned, hot weather = good, but bad air = blech.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Love the striped waistcoat. I know that is not a proper biological term, but it should be.

 Why am I posting this picture when it is practically identical to the one above, just upside down? Because I want you to know that this seemingly placid, cooperative bug was anything but.

Very chic and modern.

Backyard Bud of the Day:

Props to any plant that is still trying to bloom. It was supposed to this evening - again - and didn't - again...

Here's to these gallant plants! Blooming, producing fruit and seeds!

 Nightshade hanging off a pokeweed plant. A plethora of poisonous pickings!

Moths in the wild:

Yes, I can still see you.

I went outside tonight after it got dark to look for spiders, and found a few other things, too.

This moth is laying eggs on the deer netting over my blueberry bushes.

I don't think this is a good place for the moth to lay its eggs, because deer netting is not a food source, but I couldn't exactly tell her that. Well, not so she would understand... These caterpillars, when they hatch, are going to have a long walk to find something to eat. Which I hope will not be my blueberry bush.

As promised, more pictures of the weird caterpillar:

 The color really varies in different light angles...

More caterpillars:

 This sort of looks like a luna moth caterpillar... but not completely.

 I spotted this one when I was outside with my flashlight looking for spiders.

Random bugs:

 So pretty for a stinkbug.

 This bug could have been Backyard Bug of the Day if it had just posed for the camera in a non-goofy way...

 If it didn't take so long to upload pictures I might some day upload all of my attempts on a given bug so you can see how many shots it takes to get a good picture.

 Ants tending to something interesting...

 Larva.

This katydid was crawling around on the deer netting near where the moth was laying eggs.

There's still a ton of spiders in the backyard. When I went out with my flashlight tonight I found even more orb weavers, and their webs are huge - one new one has anchor threads that reach from the ground all the way up into a tree, at least 8 feet up. I couldn't get good shots of the webs, but I did get good shots of spiders. Warning to the arachnid averse - some of today's spiders score pretty high for creepiness factor.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 I don't see how this particular web is going to catch much, but maybe the spider just wanted a hammock to hang out in. It was very hot today.

 Same kind of spider, but a bigger one. Spotted when I was out with my flashlight. I think this particular species of spider has some teddy bearish qualities.

 This might be a new specimen, or it might be an old one that has moved to a new location - this web is new today, and one of the older ones appears abandoned.

 This spider has been in the same location for weeks.

 The new guy. Different species than the other ones. This is the one with the web that goes up into the tree.

 It's in a very good location - it caught not only this moth, but another one while I was watching. You can see that the silk coming from the spinneret for wrapping the moth is multi-stranded.

 Its second moth catch landed pretty much right in its arms while it was wrapping the first moth.

Another of the old faithful spiders. This one is the biggest. There are at least 5 orb weavers in an area of the yard of about 20 feet linearly.

Watch out, night flying bugs!