Great Expectations

There's this dumb thing I do, which is that if I have ever seen a interesting bug in a certain place, I will keep looking for that bug in that spot almost forever. Nearly every time I walk by. For years. Because it's been there once, so it could be there again. Well beyond the life span of the bug. Particularly caterpillars, because they do tend to hang around the same spot for a while. And then they turn into something else, and fly away, so there is really absolutely no chance that I will see that caterpillar there again in two years. But really I am not looking for the same caterpillar, I just think that if there was one there two years ago, there could be one there again, because obviously it is a good place for that kind of caterpillar. I am not so stupid or crazy that I really think a caterpillar is going to return to being a caterpillar. The thing is, this just really doesn't happen (finding a bug in the same spot, I mean. Not caterpillars returning to being caterpillars. Because obviously that doesn't happen). Finding a cool bug in a particular spot almost never happens twice over a long period of time; just in the short term, if the bug didn't leave yet. However, there is a bush that I walk by every day several times, and I always check it to see if there might be a dagger moth caterpillar chowing down on its leaves, because two years ago I saw a dagger moth caterpillar hanging out there for a few days.

And today, it was there.

So, Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Dagger moth caterpillar is a pretty intense name for something that looks like a cuddly, fuzzy banana, but at least it has venomous spines. So don't cuddle it.

 It's a fairly big caterpillar, too, but it becomes a good sized moth, so it has to be.

This might be a dagger moth:

 I say it might be a dagger moth because this is essentially what a dagger moth looks like, but I don't know if it is a dagger moth, or one that looks similar. Because of course it is not in any of my books, and the internet, as usual, is not terribly helpful in this matter. Anyway, it's a big moth. And it would be a nice bit of symmetry to find a dagger moth caterpillar and a dagger moth on the same day.

 Big moths are awesome.

Speaking of awesome, big bugs:

 Cicada! We were in the car, about to leave, when I looked up at a tree next to the driveway and saw this lovely insect. I jumped out of the car and ran inside to get my camera. It pays to be familiar with your trees; I wouldn't have noticed it if it didn't look like an unfamiliar blot on the trunk. And luckily for me, it was right about my eye level - the perfect place for photography! And it was so cooperative, and sat so still for me (until it got sick of me and started to very, very slowly creep up the trunk).

 Look at that beautiful face!

 I had been hearing cicadas in the trees during my bug walk earlier, and was so frustrated that they were well beyond my sight.

 This is a Dog-day cicada, an annual species, meaning they emerge every year. The larvae, however, spend three years underground, feeding on the roots of trees. They only come out when they are adults, they moult, make noise (the males, anyway), mate, and that's it. They are the sound of summer.

 This bug made my day. Too bad it can't be Backyard Bug of the Day, because it was BBotD recently already. But it's deserving of some kind of honor - Backyard Bug All-Star!

 It's about 2 1/2 inches long, I would guess. I should have put my finger next to it for reference, but I didn't think of it.

When we came home from our errand (setting up my bug photography exhibit at the library) it was still on the tree, but higher. It was slowly creeping upward as I took this picture.

After that, none of the other bugs I have to show you are going to seem awesome, but here they are anyway.

Still seeing a lot of caterpillars, but today instead of a lot of different kinds I mostly just saw a lot of white hickory tussock moth caterpillars:

 I'm not going to post pictures of ALL of the whtmc's I saw. There were several. I noticed that they don't look as hairy as they sometimes do. I would like to believe that that is a sign we are going to have a mild winter, but it wouldn't be true, because it's just something I just made up.

 I can't tell if this is a discarded skin, or a squashed young caterpillar.

 This is a discarded skin. Remember the other day I posted a picture of a caterpillar that had just moulted, and wondered if it was going to eat the skin? It didn't. This is it.

 Rare glimpse of a whtmc face.

Speaking of shedding skin, this is the smallest of the parasa moth caterpillars, next to... maybe a shed skin? So often I feel like I just missed the interesting moments...

Okay, a couple more lipidoptera:

 Moth in the wild, with lovely green eyes.

 Uncooperative butterfly.

Here, I zoomed in so you can actually see it.

Backyard Bud of the Day:

 My neighbor told me what this plant is called, but I can't remember. All I know is it is impossible to kill, even when you are trying to (because it appears to be invasive).

 This is what those buds are going to be come. Very popular with ants.

 This is a branch (stalk?) on a goldenrod plant. I love that it looks like green roses.

 I misidentified this as bittersweet the other day. It is not bittersweet. I don't think. I have to find my wildflower book...

Seed cones of a black birch.

Random bugs:

 Still trying to get a good picture of the buffalo leaf hopper...

 Close...

 Cricket

 Hoverfly

 This leaf hopper has to win the prize as the most uncooperative bug ever. It's comical, really. Go out in your backyard and find one, and then try to take its picture, and watch what it does.

 Much more cooperative.

Cocoon? Or jumping spider hangout?

Speaking of spiders, time for Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Hanging onto the web threads.

 I spotted this spider web on the front porch. I went out at night to see the spider, and it had done its web building for the night, but interestingly, had not rebuilt the entire web, just the center portion of it.

 Hmmm... the kitchen window needs washing...