Playing Games

I did not want to go outside today. It was hot, and humid, and gross, and I didn't think I was going to find any bugs in the short time available to me, because we were going out, but I went anyway, and found some interesting things. I went out again later, when we got home, and it was getting dark, and was really glad I did, because I found some great spiders then. So, the moral of the story is go outside.

I am left with my typical quandary, which is, do I choose as Backyard Bug of the Day a bug I see often, and have difficulty getting pictures of, that I finally got good shots of, or do I choose something I haven't seen before, and may not see again? And what do I always do in these situations?

That's right. I choose both.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

 The World's Most Uncooperative Leaf Hopper! (Actually, I have decided that the title should now belong to the buffalo leaf hopper. They are so unaccommodating this summer). I am not sure, but this might be called a sharpshooter. Because of how far it shoots... the stuff it shoots.

 I have never seen one this color. Usually they are darker (this picture makes it look darker than it looked in real life, but the ones I have seen in the past have been much darker than this).

This is what usually happens when you try to take a picture of one of these. In order to get the shots I did I had to kind of play a game with it where I would shift to take the picture, and it would scoot to the other side of the stem. These leaf hoppers are better at this game than I am. And when they get tired of it they often just fly away. Which is how I know that the underside of their wing covers are red.

There is a ninja mosquito in my house... I have missed killing it twice...

Hey, is that rain I hear? Yes! Yes it is! Hold up, gotta go close some windows... Oh, wait, it already stopped. Okay, NOW it's really raining...

Backyard Bug of the Day #2:

 A very handsome bug. Maybe an immature stinkbug of some kind?

I don't know what this is, but look at those Hemiptera mouth parts.

It's raining really hard right now, which is a wonderful relief, except that I looked at the radar weather map, and no way we are getting more than 1/4 of an inch out of this.

Okay, on to Backyard Bud of the Day:

I don't know what this is, and unfortunately, I don't remember where it was in the yard, other than inside a thorn bush (which describes a good portion of the yard) so I don't know where to go look for it when it is blooming.

I've got a fair few Random Bugs for you:

 Possibly a robber fly.

 Assassin bug.

 Flower fly?

 Ah, the elusive buffalo leaf hopper. It's not looking well.

 Cricket.

Caterpillars:

Backyard Bug Behavior

 Something like this, once spotted, must be investigated.

 This is not what I expected to find. Interesting that this time there are only two bugs involved, not the huge scrum I saw last time I spotted net-winged beetles mating.

I saw them on my first bug walk, and they were still there hours later when I did my second.

I don't know how to categorize and/or introduce these two pictures... Leftovers?

It's not all about the bugs in the backyard. It's also about the things that eat the bugs. Backyard Amphibian of the Day:

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 There are a lot of jumping spiders that hang out on the side of the house, and it is hard to get pictures of them because as soon as you get close to them - not even close, within about 5 feet - they dash under the roof flashing. But these two let me take their picture today.

 This is a brand new one for me - I think it is a Spined Micrathena. When I first spotted it I thought two things - that it was dead (it was dangling from a thread and spinning around in the breeze), and that it was another spider, the pink and yellow one I posted recently (which may be an Arrow Shaped Micrathena) - I thought maybe the color changed when it died and dried out? Anyway, not dead, as evidence by the fact that it climbed up the thread to the leaf, and a different spider than I thought it was.

 Another jumping spider that has made a hideaway - this one is made from a folded leaf, as opposed to just silk like the one I posted a few days ago.

 This is the same spider, outside its home.