Bug Weather

My husband is cooking dinner on the grill right now, and every time he opens the back door to come in or go out I hear the cacophony of crickets in the backyard. It is hot, and humid, and they like it. Unless I am misinterpreting their song, and they are actually complaining loudly and vehemently about the weather. The bugs seemed to like the weather today, which was hot and CLOUDY, and a teensy bit rainy, so I don't think they were complaining.

There will be Co-Backyard Bugs again today, because I have two candidates that are good, and I am pretty sure they are both new to me.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

 I know this looks familiar, because there are a lot of bugs (and this IS a bug, a True Bug, a Hemiptera) that looks similar to this, but it's not one I have seen before. It's bigger than any other similar species I have seen, for one thing. I couldn't find it in any of my bug books, but it looks like a stinkbug. It also looks like other things, so I don't know.

 This picture is not zoomed in, it's just a big enough bug that it looks big when I get close. It was quite cooperative, too.

This is zoomed in. It has eyes like a disco ball.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #2:

 I have no idea what this is. Some sort of fly, maybe?

 It had a drop of rain caught in its antenna. Or maybe I should say it had its antenna caught in a drop of rain.

 Here it is all zoomed in. It did NOT want its picture taken, and kept moving, so I could not get this close.

In these two pictures it is flapping its wings like mad. I have never seen a bug do that before, just flap, really, really fast, and not take off. It did this for several seconds.

Then it stopped flapping. Eventually it did fly away, though.

Backyard Bud of the Day:

There are many Random Bugs today:

 The saddleback is on the move. That is, it is not where it was. I did not actually see it move. It has definitely grown, though.

Adult male snowy tree cricket. On the same tree where I spotted the female yesterday.

Crane fly. Look at those legs!

 This caterpillar is still around, and still has parasites.

 This one spent the last couple of days not moving, and it looks like it just moulted. One of these days I am going to spot one while it is moulting...

Things lurking...

 Weevil.

 Tortoise beetle.

This is the first time I have seen the feet of a tortoise beetle, I think. Usually they are clamped down on the leaves (which is their defense mechanism). I missed the just-about-to-take-flight shot (as usual).

 Ladybug larva. I haven't seen one of those in a while.

The aphids have taken over the milkweed.

After not seeing any praying mantises for a while, it's been nice seeing them around the last couple of days. There are still two on the bush out front:

 They looked like they were eying each other - like gunfighters about to face off. I think they are both males, so maybe they were (though they did not fight that I know of).

 I was lured outside by the sound of the crickets, and found this praying mantis in That Tree. It was grooming its front legs, which made me wonder if it had just eaten something.

 They eyes were really dark, which I have never seen before. I suspect that it has to do with being able to see at night. A quick internet search came up with a lot of hooey.

 There were some stinkbugs on the tree at the same time...

 And this one was bold (or stupid) enough to walk right past the mantis (that is the mantis on the left. It had shifted since the previous picture). The mantis didn't see it.

Here's another example of pareidolia for you:

None of the leaves are happy that autumn is coming.

Some fun with spiders today! Arachnid Appreciation:
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Funny story about this spider...

 Apparently I walked into a thread that this spider was dangling from without noticing it, because when I was leaning over to take a picture of something on the ground I noticed the spider dangling from my hair. And climbing.

 I used my monopod to try to catch the thread, and then could not find the spider. I was pretty sure it was no longer on me, but I really wanted to know where it ended up.  Because GAH!

Anyway, I found it on the ground, crawling on some moss. This is the spider that I think is a spined micrathena. I knew it had been building a web in that area, so I should have been paying more attention as I walked.

 This looks like a tiny six-spotted orb weaver, but it's really hard to tell when a spider is tiny and dangling from a thread in the breeze.

I nearly leaned on a slug taking this picture...

 Daddy-long-legs are so funny when they are trying to hide.

For all this time I have not been able to figure out what species all those orb weavers in my yard are, because they don't look like anything in my books, but today I noticed that one of them appears to be changing color. Before it was just yellow, but now it has a brown pattern on the side, and now I recognize what it is - a shamrock spider.

 I got a better view of it at night when it was out building its web.

 I went and checked the others, and though one of them is still just yellow, this one also appears to be changing. (I didn't see them all. Orb Weaver #1 was not around). I can't find any information in my books or online about them changing color, though.

I got a good look at this one, which previously was brown, and now has turned a dark pink, but also has the pattern of a shamrock orb weaver.