This Should Be Creepy, But it's Not

I was hoping that I would find a huge, scary spider today for Halloween, but nope. Just the usual cute kind. You'll see that at the end, if you can stand it.

I discovered something today - I have not had a ladybug as Backyard Bug of the Day this year, so, guess what?

Backyard Bug of the Day:

I assumed that I had used a ladybug before, and while I actually have, I have not used THIS kind of ladybug before. There are actually many species of ladybug, and I have featured some of the ones that are not this stereotypical ladybug. So now you get a more classic ladybug. In Halloween colors.

The weather today turned out to be absolutely the worst kind of Halloween if you are a kid - cold, so your mom makes you wear a coat with your costume, and raining during trick-or-treating hours. It was just cold and cloudy when I did my bug walk, but that was enough to keep most of the bugs out of sight.

Oh, but before we get to the Random Bugs, here's Backyard Bud of the Day:

I think this is asters. I'll know when it blooms... It's in my vegetable garden, and while I applaud any plant that is preparing to bloom right now, growing in the middle of my mostly-failed vegetable garden is a bit snarky, I think.

Random Bugs:

 Two of the wasps were still hanging out on the asters, but today they were on the same flower. I made sure to check for them today, because it got really cold last night, and the day wasn't much better (okay, it was twenty degrees warmer than it was last night, but it was still not a nice day). I wonder what their story is...

 There were a lot of ants marching up this tree. They were pretty energetic for the cold weather. I always hope that on cold days the bugs will be sluggish, and while that is true of some bugs, it is certainly not true of most of them.

 The buffalo tree hopper was still hanging out on the same tree, too.

 And of course these are still around, but I didn't see as many.

 A looper! It's been a while!

 Insect eye test. These candy striped leaf hoppers often align themselves with the veins of leaves, helping them to blend in. I always wonder how much they are aware of what they are doing...

 More eye testing. This one is a little more obvious.

  I hardly saw any aphids today, even!

Still hanging out on the lawn chair. (In case you're wondering, the lawn chairs were originally green, but I spray painted them blue, but only on the tops, so that is why sometimes when I post pics they are green, and sometimes blue. It depends on if the bugs are on the top or the bottom - and I keep them tipped on their sides when we are not sitting in them. Not that anyone wants to sit on a chair with this thing on it).

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Mostly Wings and Tongues

From a high in the low-70s on Wednesday afternoon to a low in the mid-30s in the wee small hours of Thursday, and the bugs didn't like it very much. The crickets were singing enthusiastically in the last hours of Wednesday, but by Thursday afternoon the crickets, the few with anything to say, were very lethargic.

The temperature stayed above freezing by a couple of degrees, but I really didn't think I was going to find anything this afternoon when I went out (and by then the air had struggled up to 58ºF - and it never broke 60º). The bugs were certainly hard to find, but again I found some things that were surprising.

First, Backyard Bug of the Day is something that has been Backyard Bug of the Day before, but I don't have any other choice, and I did find something new about it to share. So...

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This is some kind of fly, and it has been Backyard Bug of the Day before - I am pretty sure, anyway - but today I saw its tongue, and that has gained it the honor again today.

 Anyway, as you can see, its tongue is pretty cool. It's big, and wide, and seems to have something like fingers on the end of it. It was licking up something on the leaf, and the fingers would curl up... It's hard to explain. But it was cool.

 Because I was focused on the tongue the rest of it is out of focus, so these are not good pictures, but they give you an idea of what the tongue is like.

Here's a rarity, Backyard Bud of the Day:

I suspect that what's inside is seeds, not flowers, but we'll see. Unless there's a frost tonight that kills the plant.

Okay, what else did I see today...

A surprising number of hoppers:

Candy striped leaf hoppers really love this plant. And I don't mean this species of plant, I mean this actual specimen.

 Buffalo tree hopper playing hide and seek.

 Still working on the hiding skills.

Okay, now I can't remember what this beetle is called, but I have to post it whenever I see it, because it's still awesome:

This time it did not refold its wings, it just flew away.

Then there's this:

 These two just finished mating before I took these pictures. The one I think is the male is on the right. It's the female who is why I took the whole series.

 I am just fascinated by insect wings. I love that they will flutter them a bit before they fly.

Here is my other surprise from today's bug walk:

 The asters attracted three wasps today. They were not enjoying the chilly weather - I thought they were dead, in fact, but they eventually moved their antennae a little. Of course, this makes them a lot easier to photograph.

 There were two of this species.

 And one of this species - smaller, and a different color.

After seeing so many ladybug larvae lately, it was not a surprise to see these:

 This pupa was standing upright, but when I touched the leaf, it lay down flat. It's fascinating that they do that.

Not everyone has entered metamorphosis yet.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 I love spiders with striped legs.

No idea what that white stuff all over its face is.