Yard Sweet Yard

I'm back! I suppose you'd like to know where I've been. I was on vacation. The reason there have been no posts about my backyard in the last week is because I have been separated from my backyard by a couple hundred miles. I did not intend to go off without a word, though. We left last Saturday morning, so I turned on the porch light the previous evening, and after midnight, once it became Saturday, I went out and took pictures of bugs for a Backyard Bug of the Day, and other entertaining things. I figured that when I got to where I was staying for the week, where there was supposed to be wi-fi, I would be able to post a blog for the day, and let you know that the blog would be on hiatus for a while. But when I got there, the wi-fi didn't work. It didn't get fixed until the next day, and by the rules I have set for myself it was then too late to use those bugs. I am sorry for running off unannounced, but at least there was nothing earth-shatteringly interesting on the porch that night.

Here is a Vacation Bug as an apology:

We drove past a huge field of sunflowers somewhere in central Pennsylvania, and I had to stop for pictures. I know only pictures from my backyard are supposed to be on this blog, but I am making an exception for this.

When I came home this evening there was just enough light for me to do my bug walk, thus, there is a blog full of lovely bugs for you today. I greeted the yard and asked if it had missed me. It is a backyard, so it didn't answer (though the mosquitoes were happy to greet me. There were no mosquitoes where we were all week. That was nice), but I certainly missed it!

Backyard Bugs of the Day:

 These are red milkweed beetle larvae. At least, that is what I think they are. That is what the internet says, anyway. They are not on milkweed, however, which is the only place I have ever seen milkweed beetles, so one has to wonder how they got on this plant.

 I am totally creeped out by them. I think it is because they are shiny, and appear to be wet and squishy. Not that I will touch them to ascertain if that is true. Blech.

In case you are wondering what red milkweed beetles look like, it was BBotD about a week and a half ago. But these still qualify to be BBotD because they are a different form of the bug.

To my great surprise and joy, I found a Backyard Bud of the Day, too!

 Asters, I think. Fitting, since they are a fall flower, and fall seems to have arrived while we were gone - even though it's the middle of August!

Now I've got a whole slew of random bugs for you today, since you've gone so long without them:

 There are too many bugs that look like this in my book to know what this is.

 Leaf hopper

 For almost a whole week I have seen no weevil!

Assassin bug of some kind, I think.

 Tree cricket and shed exoskeleton

 Based on the size difference, I don't think that this tree cricket has recently crawled out of this skin. It could even belong to another bug entirely. But it does look at least like the same species.

 Lace bug

 Caterpillar that looks like ugly 70s carpeting (which may be redundant).

This is a two-fer! A ladybug and the aphid it's eating.

Moths in the wild:

 I think this is a dagger moth. Actually, maybe this can't be considered a moth in the wild, because it is on the side of the house. But it was just there, not attracted to the porch light.

Bees, bees, bees. And wasps.

 I can see nine bees on this goldenrod plant. They were in that chilly-evening stupor.

 Cool looking wasp.

 Let's zoom in on those eyes...

'Tis the season for seeds...

 Seed cone of some sort that has been dropped on a leaf

Berries of Jack-in-the-pulpit. Not attached to the plant, however - there isn't even one nearby.

Now for some Arachnid Appreciation:
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Quite a bit of spider variety today!