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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