Hot

It was really hot today. I don't know how hot, because my weather sensor has gone on the blink, and since yesterday has been saying it is 32ºF, with 0% humidity. It was probably closer to 32ºC, according to weather reports, but I don't know exactly what it was here. Not that I need to know that, of course, because I know the important thing, which is that it was hot, but I like to be able to quantify my misery. The sensor in the car said it was 87ºF, but it is usually off from what my weather station says by a couple of degrees, so maybe it was 89ºF. Or maybe it was 90ºF. Either way it was hot, and I didn't like it, and neither did the bugs.

I didn't see as many bugs as I often do on "nicer" days, but I still did see a lot of bugs. This blog doesn't really give you a sense of how many bugs I see when I walk around my backyard. I don't take pictures of everything I see, and I don't post anywhere near as many pictures as I take. Some bugs don't make it onto the blog even if I take their picture, and I don't take pictures of every fly, and gnat, and bee, and aphid, and moth, and beetle. Sometimes it's because they fly off before I can take their picture, but most of the time it's just because I don't want a picture of every fly I see.

The point is, if you really, really want to get a sense of how many bugs there are around us, then you have to go outside. Pick a day that is cooler than 90ºF, because the bugs don't like it, but some nice day, go out and look around, and just be aware of all the life that is buzzing, perhaps literally, around you. You'll see more mundane things like flies than fascinating things, but you might see something truly fascinating. Maybe something you've never seen before. Maybe something I've never seen before. It's unlikely, but you might even see something that science has never seen before (in which case you won't find it in any field guides). You'll have a better chance at seeing something interesting if you have something other than grass in your yard (milkweed is a nice choice), but if you only have grass, or maybe a few trees, you can get down on the ground and see what's there. You can find amazing things on tree trunks and leaves. If you want to know just how amazing the world of insects is, you're not going to see all of it just by reading this blog, you really have to go out and look for yourself sometimes.

But keep reading the blog, too.

Speaking of hot weather, you remember last night I had some bugs stuck in the window because they wouldn't go out when I opened it to let them out? Well, here's one of the bugs that was stuck there overnight:

 Seeing as it was so hot, I really didn't want all of those bugs to be stuck in there when the afternoon sun baked that window, so I opened it, letting heat into the house in the process, and tried to convince them to leave. Nobody wanted to go. I finally got this moth to fly away by blowing on it, but the stupid crane flies refused to budge. They prefer to just buzz around and scream, "LET ME OUT!" to actually leaving when the window is opened. Well, at least I saved the life of this moth.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This is one of those Is-it-a-wasp-or-is-it-a-fly bugs. It looks very waspish, but I think it is a fly. The eyes look more flyish, but also it has only one set of true, functional wings, and...

 Do you see those white things right behind its rear legs, where the body narrows? Those are modified wings called halteres, and they flap, but they don't make the bug fly, they have to do with steering, I think. Or something like that. Also, those tiny antennae in the middle of its face I think mean it is a fly, not a wasp. Of course, if I could see whether it has a stinger, that would help, too, but I can't. Not a good angle for that, and this is a fairly small bug, maybe half an inch long. It's quite pretty and delicate, though, for a fly.

 Random Bugs:

 In relation to what I was saying before, that the blog doesn't give an accurate picture of what I see in my backyard, from the blog you would think that the only butterflies I see are skippers and these small wood satyrs, but I actually see a lot of other butterflies, too. They just don't sit still to have their pictures taken. Mostly they don't even land.

 I've noticed lately that very often when you see a weevil, if you look you will find more weevils on the same plant, or otherwise nearby. Weevil #1

 Weevil #2

 Weevil #3

 Moth whose seen some rough times. It's pretty amazing how mangled moths and butterflies can be and still be able to fly.

 This is an ENORMOUS gypsy moth caterpillar. I saw it on the window and was surprised to see such a huge caterpillar, and was even more surprised when I got close and saw what kind it was. I didn't know they got so long and so fat.

 Caterpillar Close-up

 I think this is a robber fly

 One of tonight's visitors on the window screen. I didn't get any shots of the blinking, but at least this is a pretty decent view of the lighty-up bits.

Backyard Bug Behavior:

 We're going to get pretty gross here. I love seeing these larvae because of that gorgeous blue color. You know I love anything blue, and blue is not a common color in nature, so when I find something that is blue, I am drawn to it. So, taking a look at this larva...

 Getting in closer...

 ... and then this happens.

 Contrary to how this looks, the frass (is it called frass when it's a beetle larva, or just caterpillars? Let's just call it frass regardless) did not go shooting out. The larva... um... rubbed it off on the leaf next to it. And I am not sure, but I think the yellow part there is a part of the larva that it is usually internal, and was retracted after this. So, why am I posting pictures of a larva pooping? (Is it called frassing?). Because this is a bug behavior I actually see quite a lot. I've seen it from all kinds of bugs - caterpillars most often (and some of them DO shoot it out the back end), but others, too, and even spiders. I don't know if I just have really awkward timing or if this is some sort of defensive technique - either to expel something gross and drive away a possible threat or to lighten the load, as it were, before having to flee. Except that they generally don't flee afterwards, so that's probably not it, at least in most cases. Anyway, this is not something I ever would have realized in the past, before I started spending so much time observing insects, but I realize now that there is frass EVERYWHERE. I am sure I saw those little specks of something on leaves and whatnot all my life, and never once thought about what they were.

You know what, I don't even want to think about that...

And by the way, yes, I realize that it is the back end of the larva that is in focus in these pictures, but that is not because I was trying to focus on what was happening there. It is just what happens when the bug is moving AND the wind is blowing the leaf it is sitting on. Most of the pictures I took of this larva didn't come out in focus at all.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Interesting twist. Remember the bold jumping spider from yesterday that was under a veil of silk with her egg sac? Well, the egg sac is still there, but the spider isn't.

 That's a pretty impressive set of chelicerae...

 This technique of making itself look smaller by lining up its limbs with its long, skinny body was pretty successful - I almost didn't see it. But then, I did.