So Many Larvae

I've been trying to convince myself that I should stop being annoyed by the cold weather lately, because it's normal for October, but I happened to look at the stats for the yesterday in the paper, which includes the 'normal' temperature for the date, and it turns out that for most of the last week and a half or so it's been below normal by about ten degrees. Now, I know I already said that statistics don't mean anything in weather, but the statistics still say it should be warmer now. Not that I even remember what normal weather is for any month of the year - that's why I have to look it up in the paper. I have no idea what forecasters mean when they say the weather will be seasonable. However, I do know that it's supposed to be sunny and ten degrees warmer than it is. So... pouting. Don't mind me, I need sunshine, and after three days without it I become unbearable. But the bugs obviously don't like the weather either. Maybe I am turning into a bug... Hmmm... Still only two legs, don't have compound eyes, no antennae... Nope, I have not entered a Kafka novel. Anyway, I am changing the name of this month to Ughtober.

Okay, enough whining! People are going to stop reading! Just show some bugs!

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Another Coleoptera larva! (at least, I think that's what it is). This is obviously the season for beetle babies.

Look at that cute face!

Speaking of beetles...

 Another one of those beetles with really short elytra (you have to keep using words to make them a permanent part of your vocabulary. And strangely enough, I don't get many chances in my normal, day-to-day conversation to use the word elytra, so I have to use it here).

 Ooh, I know what's coming now...

 One wing...

Two wings! And then it flew away. Of course I did not get that shot...

It's all the usual suspects today in Random Bugs:

 So I've been wondering about insect mating (Now THAT is something I never thought I would ever say). Specifically, why are aphids mating at this time of year? Do their eggs hatch really fast, and their young are able to overwinter? Do their eggs overwinter? Are they unable to sense the coming of winter? Completely unaware of seasons? What's the deal?

 By the way, again it is two aphids of different colors, and again it is the lighter colored one on top, so it would seem that the colors are sexually dimorphic. You can't tell in this shot, but one of the wings on the top bug (and I just realized that only the top bug has wings. Duh) is kind of mangled. Come to think of it, I wonder why some aphids have wings and others don't...

 I spotted this fly on a leaf today, but most of the others of this bug I saw today were on the underside of leaves.

 Like this one.

 And these. I spotted them because the wind flipped their leaf over.

 Amazing the number of ladybug larvae I am seeing lately.

A looper of a different color!

 Another bug with a wing that's not tucked in right. This one doesn't look injured, though.

I can't tell if this tree cricket has wings or not. It doesn't look like it, but it was a pretty big cricket, so it seems weird that it would not be an adult.

After seeing NO spiders yesterday, I found plenty for today's Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Hiding under the rain gauge. (We got 3/4 of an inch of rain yesterday).

 I think this is a new one for me.

 This is the tiniest jumping spider I have ever seen. It was maybe about 1/16th on an inch long.

This jumping spider stowed away to come inside with me. I was taking pictures of a bouquet of roses when I noticed it dangling from my camera strap. I transferred it to one of the flowers, and took its picture, of course. I am not sure where it is now...