The Gnat Paradox

There's this principle in science that has to do with the behavior of a subject being observed changing because it is being observed. I first heard about this in chemistry class when I was in high school, and it didn't make sense to me then (and I don't remember any details about this now, decades later), because the subject in question at the time was an electron, or an atom, or something tiny and not alive. I didn't understand how being observed would change the behavior of something with no consciousness. It makes more sense when you're talking about living things, especially people. Admit it, you behave differently sometimes because you are being watched. You can't help it.

I am pondering this today because of something it is impossible for me to observe, and it is this: What do gnats do when I am not around? When I am around they congregate around my head. But they can't do that when I am not around, so what do they do? Nap? Play tiddlywinks? Write gnat novels? I don't know. And there is no way for me to know, because of the little catch-22 that is inherent in the question: I can't observe what gnats do when I am not around because in order for me to observe them, I have to be there, which means that they will do what they do when I am around. Which is congregate around my head. And sometimes fly into my eyes and nose.

The truth comes out. I don't love all bugs. I don't love gnats. I don't even like them.

Speaking of things I can't observe, there's a meteor shower tonight, but I can't see it because it's cloudy. It is almost always cloudy when there is something of interest going on in the night sky. Hmph. The least it could do is rain, because we could use that.

Beetles are much cooler than gnats. Backyard Bug of the Day:

 When I first spotted this beetle on a tree I almost didn't bother to even take a close look at it because I thought it was an ant (I'll show you why in a minute). But for some reason, often when I don't think something is worth a closer look, something in the back of my brain tells me to look anyway, and when I do it often turns out that the back of my brain was right (I wonder if this is related to the eyes-in-the-back-of-the-head phenomenon...). So I looked closer, and was glad I did, because it's not an ant. At least, I am pretty sure it is not an ant, but a beetle. It does have some antish qualities, but I am pretty sure it's a beetle.

 As you can see in this zoomed-in shot, it is covered with little flecks of something. I think it's probably pollen. Yay.

Until I looked at it from this angle it was hard to figure out where its eyes were.

Here's why at first glance I thought the beetle was an ant:

 Here's an ant I photographed today. It was a pretty big ant, almost as big as the beetle. So when I saw the beetle on the tree, I assumed it was another ant like this, because the coloring and basic shape was the same, from a distance.

Ant communications.

Back on the subject of Coleoptera (aka beetles), they were a dominant theme in the backyard today:

 The assassin bug is not a beetle. It is in the order Hemiptera. But that bug it is sucking the guts out of is a beetle.

Click beetle. There are a lot of those around lately.

We'll get back to the bugs in a minute, but first let's look at some birds. Backyard Bird of the Day:

 Hummingbird! What? You can't see it? It's right in the middle of the picture.

Okay, the macro lens is not the best for taking pictures of birds, especially when you can't get close to them.

 Here's that picture zoomed in.

 I was able to get slightly closer to it. There were actually two hummingbirds. I am guessing a nesting pair. Later in the day my husband saw one of them possibly actually drinking from one one of the feeders. I missed that, of course.

 

  A hawk or other raptor of some kind soared overhead. I didn't get a good enough look at it to know what it was. Just kidding. I can't identify hawks and falcons at all, except the red tailed hawk. The lighting was such for this picture that I can't even tell if that's what this was. It was only in view for a couple of seconds.

Even so, the form of the bird is splendid to see.

We're finally getting more flowers in the backyard, which is wonderful, even if they are mostly ones that grow low to the ground (I am really getting tired of all this crouching):

Still don't know what this is.

 I know, dandelions are so common, and a lot of people hate them, and will spread chemicals on their lawns to get rid of them, but I think they are charming.

 Wild strawberry

 The crab apple didn't bloom today. Maybe tomorrow...

 Jack-in-the-pulpit

 Before this year I never noticed how dandelions form. The buds start out at the ground, and then the stem lifts them up.

Okay, time for some Random Bugs:

 I'm not the only one who likes the dandelions. These tiny bees do, too. Almost every time I look at a dandelion I see one or more of these bees on it.

 Not sure if this was a friendly scuffle, or an altercation...

 Springtail

I saw a couple of leaf hoppers months ago when the temperature was first creeping above freezing, but I haven't seen any since those earliest hints that spring may be coming. So this feels like the first leaf hopper of spring. It's pretty small, and hiding under the petal of a daffodil, but I think that looks like its proboscis sucking whatever it is there is to suck out of a daffodil. Hemiptera, such as this hopper, are classified by their sucking mouthparts.

 Hovering bee

Here's that same picture, zoomed in so you can actually see the bee.

Sorry, I didn't get any good spider pictures today!