Everything Is Beautiful

I may have had some sort of profound thoughts today while walking around my backyard looking for bugs, but at the moment I can't remember what they were, so you're just going to get pictures.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Juvenile katydid, I think. No wings.

GAAAAH! THERE ARE RULES FOR SPIDERS LIVING IN THE HOUSE! DON'T CRAWL ON ME!!!

Sorry. Spider freak out. I like spiders, but come on. No crawling up the leg. And now it's under the couch. Not thrilled about that.

Okay, back to the Backyard Bug of the Day...

 Really impressive antennae...

Random Bugs:

Another weirdly cooperative skipper. Or it could be the same one from the other day.

 Crane fly with gorgeous wings

 Ah, a looper similar to the one that was BBotD a couple of weeks ago, but in another color. I wonder if it's a different species or the same species with a color variation. Curious that before this year I don't think I ever saw a looper with those spikes on its back, and so far this year I have seen two different kinds.

 Here's a little taste for you of what it's like to photograph bugs...

 Zoomed-in picture so you can see its eyes. Like a spider, it has a lot of eyes but poor eyesight. You hear a lot about various animals and the ways in which their senses are so superior to humans'. I confess I sometimes find it disheartening, so it's nice to come across an animal that has a sense inferior to ours. On the other hand, this little critter will grow up to be able to fly, so, it's still better than us.

 Grasshopper. I wish I had seen this on a sunny day, in a place where I didn't have to stick my head in a bush to get a picture of it. I would really have liked a better look.

 Remember I told you yesterday about those green moths on the crab apple tree? There are four of them in a row on this branch.

 I think this is a sawfly, but it could be a bee or wasp. It's gorgeous, whatever it is (and they do belong to the same order, Hymenoptera, so I am going to blame my confusion on that.

 There was one more aphid in this picturesque row, but it didn't want to have its picture taken.

 Sharing is caring.

Immature something...

 Every time one of these beautiful bees stays still and lets me take its picture I feel lucky.

 Hopper

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Yet another species of jumping spider - I could probably do a whole calendar of just jumping spiders next year, with a different species every month, if I actually have a decent picture of each species. This is probably the prettiest one, iridescent gold and mauve. It likes to hang out on milkweed plants.