Weirdos

Given that there are many millions of species of insects, and only one species of humans, I sometimes think that it is unfair to say that insects are weird, because after all, they are basically the norm on this planet. If anyone is weird around here, it's us.

Having said that, today's Backyard Bug of the Day is weird.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I spotted this bit of fluff on a leaf (not this picture, obviously), and thought it was maybe a weird gall or other tree growth, and wasn't going to even look closer at it, but something in my head makes me take a second look at things after I have told myself I am not going to, and when I took hold of the leaf to get a better look, the ball of fluff started to walk away.

 Again we have something insectile that looks like lint with legs. Only this one looks even more like lint. It appears to be plant fluff of some kind that a larva is carrying around on its back. There are these tiny fibers I sometimes see on leaves when I look at them really close with the macro lens, and it looks like that is what this bug is wearing. I wonder how it gets the stuff all piled up like that on its own back.

 It was pretty small, and kept moving, so I never really got a good look. But it was definitely a surprise, and a comical one.

Hmmm... looks like a pincer kind of face... beetle larva? There would be two reasons I can think of why a bug would disguise itself like this, to hide from predators, and to hide from prey. It almost worked as a way to hide from my camera, but from my perspective, this is very small. If you were another bug, on a leaf, and saw this thing walking toward you, would that disguise work so effectively? I guess it must, because it's doing in, but still. I wonder what goes on in tiny bug brains...

We did hit the 90s again today, but it was still a nicer day than yesterday (less humid), and was only in the 80s when I did my bug walk. The bugs seemed to like it better, too.

The milkweed had more visitors today than it's had lately, so now for Who's On the Milkweed Today?

 A couple of weevils. Most days I see no weevil (Come on, I haven't made that joke in a while!)

 There are very few flowers left on any of the milkweed, but this one attracted at least one bee.

 And quite a few ants.

A buffalo tree hopper. There were other hoppers, too, but they hopped away before I could take a picture. Actually, the whole yard had a lot of hoppers today that hopped away from the camera.

Random Bugs:

 I did manage to catch this hopper, though.

 Moth stuck inside the window. Don't worry, it's safe now. You are only imagining that it is screaming, "Get me out of here!"

 I don't think I have ever seen a moth quite like this. Plain white, yes, but not with those markings. Or at least, not so prominent.

 One of those huge bumblebees was still (again?) lounging around in the pink flowers.

 There are four bugs here. How many can you see?

 A couple of ambush bugs. There are some bugs that just seem to go with certain flowers, by which I mean that usually when I see them, they are on that particular flower. Ambush bugs I usually see on goldenrod or purple coneflowers, as seen here. But what I wonder is this: Both of those species of flowers bloom mid to late summer. I sometimes see nymphs, but usually adults. So what were these ambush bugs doing before the purple coneflowers bloomed? (The goldenrod is just barely starting to bloom now).

 Also, these... whatever they are, I associate with this flower, which I think is astilbe, although this year I have seen them feeding on other species.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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I am sure you can see the spider. Can you see the leaf hopper? (Sort of a trick question - the leaf hopper isn't in focus).

 Unlike some bugs as mentioned above, I think I have probably seen flower crab spiders on almost every kind of flower that blooms in my backyard.

 This may be the biggest flower crab spider I have ever seen.

 Tiny, adorable jumping spider. Which may be redundant - all jumping spiders are adorable.

Here's a spider-spotting test for you. Yes, you can see the flying things, but do you also see the spider? I didn't when I took the picture, as I was literally focused on something else. But when I looked at the picture on the computer, I thought I saw a spider. Even so, I had to zoom in to be sure...

Here's the zoomed in version.