Blue

Getting a late start here because of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, so let's just cut right to the bugs.

Backyard Bug of the Day changed four times during my bug walk today. The final choice appeared just before I went into the house. Wait, no, I just changed my mind. It's going to have to be Co-Bugs today. I found two really beautiful bugs, and just in case I never see them again, I have to choose both of them.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

 I am pretty sure this is a honeysuckle borer. The important thing is, it's blue. Really, really blue.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #2:

 Really tiny, really beautiful moth. Note, it also has some blue on it. I like blue.

 Did I mention it was really tiny? Maybe 1/8 of an inch? Maybe less?

Random Bugs:

There were a few bug interactions going on in the backyard today...

These two just happened to be sharing the same stem. But once they noticed each other, I don't think they were too keen about it.

 I don't know what's going on here. Lace bugs suck the juices out of leaves, so I don't think the lace bug is trying to eat the larva (I don't think it's a caterpillar. It seems to have too many prolegs). But it looks weird. I couldn't get a closer look than this, because the leaf was over my head, but I think the black dots on the leaf are young lace bugs.

 I should know what that white bug is called, but I can't remember right now... And I have no idea what the other one is.

 These two definitely were interacting. I think the ant was tending to the other bug (I should know what that's called, too...).

 Oh, how nice. The buttercups are blooming.

 Not a caterpillar. Too many prolegs.

Butterfly! And this is as close as I got.

 But then later I saw this. It could be the same one. I think it is a skipper.

 It turns out I was wrong when I identified these as eastern tent caterpillars. They are forest tent caterpillars. And they don't build tents, they make a mat of silk on the branch or trunk of a tree and congregate there, and also molt there. At first they do this high in the tree, and as they get older they do this lower on the trunk. Here they are about a foot from the ground. This army (fun fact: a group of caterpillars is called an army) seems to have diminished in size.

 I found this one off on its own. It is bigger than the ones on the crab apple tree. Looking for a place to make its cocoon, probably. More blue!

Here's a dramatic shot of the grape leaf roller moth. These are usually hard to get pictures of, because they don't let me get close with the camera, and they tend to land on the underside of leaves, but this one was on the window. Which is why it's the underside view.

I have decided it's time to get serious about avoiding tick bites, now that they can kill you. I don't like to wear bug spray, and I am not about to cover my yard with insecticide, so I am trying out insect repellent pants. They just came in the mail today; tomorrow will be their first bug walk. Pity I didn't have them today; I got three mosquito bites on my leg. I hope that these don't repel bugs so well that I can't get anymore pictures.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 It is often difficult for me to give you a sense of scale in my photos because everything looks huge with a macro lens. So if I say that a spider is really, really tiny, you can't really tell what I mean by that. But here I think you can figure it out for yourself, based on what this spider is walking around on.