Order, Order!

Lots of pictures, so no time to chat. All you need to know is that today was a beautiful, buggy day!

First, a bird update. 

 They're still there, and now the parents are liable to get bent out of shape if I just walk onto the driveway. Or they may say nothing at all. Meanwhile, the kiddies are unflappable (ha!), and both have their eyes open. They're quite feathery now. I don't want to say it's a good thing the other egg didn't make it, but it is very crowded in that nest.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Things aren't always what they seem. When I spotted this bug scurrying around on this leaf, I thought it was some sort of fly. But on closer inspection it appears to be a moth. It doesn't move like a moth, and from far off it doesn't look like one, but up close you can see what it is.

 None of my pictures of it are great, and this one isn't even in focus, but it does show how sparkly it is.

 The antennae are not mothish, but I still think that's what it is.

Bugs of several orders today in Random Bugs:

 Lepidoptera

 Hemiptera?

 Hemiptera

 Weevil - Coleoptera

 I think this is a hopper nymph. So, Hemiptera

 I think this is a different kind of hopper nymph.

 I'm not going to say that fairies aren't real, but I will say that there are some insects that I think gave rise to the idea of fairies. This kind of aphid (I think this is an aphid) is one of them. (Also, don't know its order). [Edit: I looked it up: Order: Hemiptera. "Defined" in Kaufman's Field Guide to Insects of North America as insects you can call bugs without offending any entomologists (with a bit more detail after that)].

 Hemiptera

 Diptera? I don't know what this is, so I don't know what order it's in.

 Coleoptera

Coleoptera

 Lepidoptera

 Coleoptera

 Hymenoptera

 Lepidoptera

 Hymenoptera

 Coleoptera

 Lepidoptera - I think this might be a gypsy moth caterpillar.

Caterpillar Close-up

By the way, I hardly had to look any of these up! Sorry, bragging, but I am feeling pretty good about the fact that all this bug obsession has actually taught me something. But not knowing the species of most of the above insects is enough to keep me humble, thank you very much.

And now for members of the order Araneae: Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Mite - Order Acari, not Araneae