Get Off My Back

Yesterday's Backyard Bug of the Day was rather unpopular on facebook. "Squish it and all of its kin!" was the basic response. Today I think I can do a little better.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

It doesn't look exactly like the pictures in my books, but I think this is a silver-spotted skipper. None of the pictures show that yellowy-orangy part. There are several internet pictures that show pictures just like this butterfly that identify it as a silver-spotted skipper, but you know I don't entirely trust the internet for identification. However, of all of my books, none show a picture that looks just like this, and several of them show one looking almost like this. I didn't see (much less get a picture of) the dorsal side. This is the most cooperative butterfly I have found so far this year. The other butterflies I saw today were entirely uncooperative, particularly a swallowtail that twice flew right in front of my face and refused to land to have its picture taken. If I had just been out for a walk I would have considered such behavior charming, but under the circumstances it was a bit irksome. But then, I was in a pretty cranky mood during my bug walk today. It was hot and humid. That's my excuse.

Some mildly amusing Bug Behavior:

 When I first spotted these two hoppers, I thought they were just two hoppers huddling close together on a plant stem, as you see sometimes.

 Then I realized that one of the hoppers was clinging onto the other.

 And it doesn't look like they're mating, because it's hanging onto the side, and also because they appear to be different species.

 At first it also seemed like the bigger hopper didn't care, that its only concern was getting away from me and my camera, but then it became obvious that it was not willingly giving a piggyback to the other hopper, as it was trying to reach around with its legs to get it off.

 I would raise and lower its wing covers (are they still called elytra in Hemiptera? I don't know) to get it to bug off (HA!), but no such luck.

 The struggle was still underway when I left.

More Bug Behavior:

An ant tending its aphids.

Random Bugs:

 I think this might be my favorite kind of weevil.

More caterpillars:

 Click beetle. I love those eyes.

More hoppers, attended by ants

 I already know that there are thousands upon thousands of species of bees, but over all I don't know a great deal about them. I make my own observations, though, and my observation for today is that it appears that certain kinds of plants are especially attractive to certain kinds of bees. The creeping myrtle in the rock garden, for example, attracted mostly bumblebees. Well, now there is a plant in bloom (I think it might be blackberries) that is attracting mostly this bee.

 The plant is a shrub-ish, vine-ish thing, and when you stand and look at it, you can see that this species of bee dominates the cloud of bees rising and falling among the blooms. It is quite a sight to see, they almost work in unison at moments.

 Moth, pretending to be a blade of grass.

 Six-spotted tiger beetle. It teased me mercilessly as I tried to get a good picture of it, including landing right next to my head as I was leaning down very close to the rock to take a picture of something else when the tiger beetle had flown away. Twice. Of course it took off immediately when I turned my head to look at it.

 This bug looks like a piece of burnt cheese.

Spotted very few spiders today.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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