So, here's how things went between me and the bugs in the backyard today. I was making my breakfast and I looked out the window to see a huge wasp land on a rock outside my kitchen window. For a second I considered going to get my camera and going outside to get a picture of it, but I figured it would never stay there long enough for me to do so, especially because I had changed the lens on the camera the night before and would have to take the time to change back to the macro. So, I went on with breakfast preparation.
A few minutes later, I looked out the window again. The wasp was still sitting there. Again I considered going for the camera, but my bagel had popped in the toaster, and I still I didn't think it would be there long enough. I finished making my breakfast and sat down to eat it. I read a bit of the paper afterwards, and when I again went to the sink to clean up, and looked out the window, the wasp was still there. So, I changed the lens on the camera, put on my backyard shoes, walked out the door and down the porch steps, and as soon as I got within view, the wasp flew away.
Yes, that's what the whole day was like.
Now, the wasp landed again, so I got some shots, but none of them were as close as I would have liked, and basically the thing was just teasing me. Brat.
Here's the wasp:
Actually, the pictures aren't bad. You had to be there to know how frustrating this was.
Every one of these shots is in a different landing spot. It didn't stay in most of its landing spots long enough for even one shot. Eventually it flew off, after buzzing around my head a few times.
Then there were the pictures like this:
It is so rare for me to get a chance to get a picture of a swallowtail of any species, and this is what I got today.
And a lot like this:
And yes, it's a decent picture of my favorite weevil (yes, I have a favorite weevil. What of it?), but it's not exactly the composition I was looking for. It's a miracle it's in focus.
Sigh.
It was just a day of bugs flying off when I had just about got them in focus, buzzing around my head, landing on my back, where I REALLY can't take their picture... It was like they decided after yesterday's awesome bug walk, today they would go the other way to make up for it.
Okay, I am done sulking, more or less. Today's Backyard Bug of the Day is one that I have been trying to get a good picture of for years, and keep failing, and the failures I have had this year have led me to say that if I ever got a good picture it would definitely be Backyard Bug of the Day. Well, I wouldn't say I got a
good picture of it, but it may be as good as I am going to get, so...
Backyard Bug of the Day:
This is the best picture of a whoooooole bunch I am going to show you. This is some kind of Tumbling Flower Beetle, which is a pretty adorable name. I didn't see any tumbling, but it was pretty agile about getting around on this goldenrod.
Being the terrible editor and decision maker that I am, I am posting a billion pictures of this so you can get a full idea of this elegant bug.
There were actually two of them on the plant, and I think these pictures are of both of them. They seemed to be the same species (there are many, as you can imagine. I have seen several different species in my backyard over the years).
That pointy end is not a stinger.
The goldenrod was the place to be today in the backyard, even though there are only a couple plants blooming so far. Or perhaps I should say it was the place to bee:
Well, bees, wasps, a variety of bugs were crowding on the few goldenrod plants.
Things got a little feisty at times, but come on, there's plenty of flowers on there!
You can see today's Backyard Bug of the Day in there, too.
I always thought this was some kind of wasp, but it's not - while I was trying to look up today's BBotD I found out that this is a fly - a Thick-headed Fly. And its presence among all these bees and wasps is somewhat sinister - it is parasitic to bees and wasps. According to Kaufman's Field Guide to Insects of North America, the female thick-headed fly will assault the bee or wasp in the air, sometimes pin it to the ground, and "ram" an egg between the bee's body segments. You can imagine what happens later. I saw this one get into altercations with a couple of the bees on the goldenrod. I don't know if it's a female, though, and if the altercations were just pushiness like was generally going on, or egg laying. No one got rammed to the ground.
It did appear to be feeding on the flowers, though, so maybe it was not just after the bees.
This ambush bug is on a goldenrod plant, but one with no flowers. Also no bugs to ambush. It's going to be a long wait, I am sorry to say.
The balloon flowers were also a popular bug spot today - almost every flower had at least one bee in it:
Some had more than one.
(The butterfly above was also on a balloon flower).
And Who's On the Milkweed Today?
Just this dragon. I mean tree cricket.
Random Bugs:
Still obsessed with these. Still don't know what they are...
Between the above and this picture, you can see how the back part bends.
Immature hopper
Even more immature hopper
A new clutch of eggs on the picnic umbrella. The other batch never did hatch, except for that one egg.
Ah, young assassin, how you've grown!
Arachnid Appreciation:
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I only found this one tiny spider today, but that's one tiny spider more than I found yesterday (I wonder where all of the flower crab spiders are all of a sudden).
It was in the process of dismantling its web.
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