Heat

It's hot. It's going to be hot for the foreseeable future. I don't like it. I have been taking my walks very early in the morning to avoid the yucky parts of the day. The bugs don't seem to be any different in the mornings.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 A skipper

Random Bugs:

 White marked tussock moth caterpillar

 Stink bug?

 Wasp under the eaves

Arachnid Appreciation
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You can't see the actual arachnid very well, but the web is pretty.

Caterpillars, And How to Find Them

You know, for most of my recent blogs, I went outside for a walk without my camera, not intending to look for bugs or take pictures, but somehow I always find things, and then have to go back to the house to get the camera. This is probably a good thing, because I am supposed to be getting some exercise, but really, I should just admit that when I am outside, I am looking for bugs.

Today as I was walking around in the backyard I was thinking about how last year around this time I was finding lots of weird caterpillars, and this year I am not finding any. I am sure you can guess what happened after that. I took about three more steps and found the Backyard Bug of the Day, which is... a caterpillar.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I am 99% sure this is an eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar. It only looks like bird poop. It is quite small at this point, so it's a pretty early instar. I immediately adopted it to raise inside and hopefully protect it from predators.

After I got the caterpillar all settled in the house I continued on my walk and only a few steps past where I found that caterpillar I found...

 ... another one! I adopted this one, too. One of the interesting things that eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillars do is to make a little mat of silk on a leaf and rest on that mat. In this picture you can see the mat that this caterpillar has made.

An even better picture of the silk mat. I don't really understand why this caterpillar does that. First of all, what does it need rest for? All it does is eat. Secondly, the only possible tiring thing it does is make that mat.

If you want to find a caterpillar, you don't always have to spot the caterpillar itself in order to find it. Sometimes you can find them based on evidence that they are around. You can look for leaf damage...

... like this...

Or...

... frass. But here's the thing. This particular milkweed plant has lots of leaf damage, and lots of frass, but I couldn't find a caterpillar on it anywhere. Of course, the caterpillar could have been eaten by something, or it could have moved on, either to dine elsewhere or to go find a place to pupate (based on the size of the frass, the caterpillar could be big enough for that now). But how has a caterpillar managed to make all this mess without me seeing it? I look at that plant every day, looking for bugs - how did I miss this? Seeing as it's a milkweed plant, it could have been a monarch, or a milkweed tussock moth caterpillar (probably the latter, as I have seen at least one of those this year), but whatever it was, it's not there now...

I did find one other caterpillar today. Sort of:

 I noticed this gathering of wasps (bees?) on the ground, and cautiously looked to see what they were swarming over. It is a large caterpillar - I have tried to figure out what kind, without much success, but I think it is either a luna moth or a polyphemus moth. It saddens me that this happened, because those are both amazing moths, but this is the way of nature. I shouldn't value one kind of insect over another, I guess, but I do. I wish this caterpillar had escaped this fate to become a moth. I don't know if the wasps (bees?) attacked and killed it, or if something else did.

 I went by later and the wasps (bees?) had mostly gone away. And later still there was no sign of any of it.

Random Bugs:

 I found yet another of these big moths - It might be an American dagger moth. I saw another one later in the day, but it didn't stick around to have its picture taken. This one has a damaged wing. It seems weird that I am seeing so many of these moths, but did not see any of the caterpillars they came from.

 Assassin bug

 Another assassin bug

 My favorite weevil

 Leaf hopper

 Candy striped leaf hopper

 Long legged fly

 Missing-legged cricket

 Assuring future generations of small milkweed bugs

 A moth has laid eggs on the deer netting again. I guess this year it's not as bad a spot, since it never rains, and therefore they won't be washed away like last year. Also, see that yellow thing on the lower eggs?

 Here it is zoomed in. No idea what it is...

 I found this beautiful bug in its death throes on the back porch. This kind of beetle will play dead as a form of self defense, but I am pretty sure it was actually dying. I kind of felt bad taking its picture, but it is a beautiful beetle.

Sigh.

Life and death all over the backyard today...

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Flower crab spider

 Six spotted orb weaver

Funnel web spider

Grumble, Grumble

I am grumpy today, and frustrated by my physical limitations. Thank goodness that I can at least find a few bugs at levels I can photograph, and that there bugs who are cooperative enough to sit still while my slow self ambles back into the house to get my camera when I go for walks without it. Still, it's been aggravating, and the weather is going to be awful all week, so there may not be blogs for the next several days. Enjoy it while you can...

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I think this is a robber fly.

 A predatory insect.

Random Bugs:

 I guess it is that time of year when I see a lot of white hickory tussock moth caterpillars.

 Caterpillar close-up

 Small milkweed bug on phlox...

 ... and on milkweed. Can you spot the other insect in this photo?

 Buffalo tree hopper

 A gall that fell from a tree

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Murphy's Law and Bug Spotting

Today I was walking around the backyard and commented that I thought it was odd that I have not been seeing any white hickory tussock moth caterpillars. Then later...

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 White hickory tussock moth caterpillar, I think. It doesn't have the spiky bits, but this is a smallish one, so maybe they develop in later instars? It was crawling on the ground, and I can't bend down that far at the moment, so this is the best shot I could get.

Anyway, it happened again that I said I hadn't seen something, and it appeared, so... I haven't seen any stick bugs in the backyard. Or blue morpho butterflies...

I did find...

 This huge moth. Even bigger than the one the other day, by a little bit at least.

 And several of these moths - not as big, more like around an inch long. I opened the picnic umbrella this morning and there were four or five of them sheltering inside.

 Along with this wasp.

 I presume this is a milkweed bug (can't tell which species from this angle), burrowing into a milkweed seed pod.

 Pretty fly

 I am not sure if this is the thick-headed fly or a wasp... and I am too tired and lazy to look it up right now...

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Funnel web spider in the crook of a tree

Walking

I tried a bug walk today, with some success. I am still not going to do one every day for a while, but I gave it a go today.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 It looks like a cross between a bee and a moth... which means it is probably a bee-mimicking moth.

 Great spangled fritillary

 Candy striped leaf hopper

 Assassin bug blending in

 I found some more eggs like the ones on the porch, but these are dark.

 I haven't seen any cicadas, but I found a wing.

Bad news - my ring flash is broken. Until I can get it fixed, no pictures will be taken except in the sunshine or on the front porch. 

Arachnid Appreciation:
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