Paths

I didn't know it until today, because I have been sick and not walking around the yard with my usual thoroughness, but my husband cut a new trail for me through the woods earlier this week. Given that my yard is just a tiny bit more than an acre, and it's not all woods, and those woods are bisected by the part of the yard that is not woods, it's not a long path, because it's not a big patch of woods. But it provides a different habitat for me to look for bugs in, the woods vs. the slightly prairie-ish vibe of the part of the backyard I usually walk around in. He told me that now my job is to walk there every day to keep the path open. Can do.

My whole backyard is basically made up of paths. I don't know what it is about a path, but I love them. If you look at a backyard that is just a huge swath of grass, there is nothing there that invites you to explore. A path does. It says, "Come, see where I will take you." Obviously I know where the paths will take me in my backyard, but for some reason they are inviting all the same.

Okay, maybe I do know what it is about a path...

Now all I need is a stile over the stone wall, and I will be in complete raptures.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Some kind of robber fly, I would guess.

Backyard Bird of the Day:

 I took these with the macro lens, which is not ideal for bird photography, but you work with the tools at hand. Can you spot it? It's a male goldfinch. We get them in the yard around this time of year. There used to be a yellow flower that would bloom around this time that they loved, and for some reason it doesn't come up anymore, but they also seem to like the goldenrod. They are really into yellow. It's amazing to me that they land on these flowers and the flowers hold their weight. I know birds are light, but it still always surprises me.

 A little harder to find in this one, but you can do it.

Random Bugs:

 Speaking of hard to find, I took a picture of a spider while my husband was standing next to me, telling me something, and then I asked if he could find the spider. He couldn't. But he did find this hopper that I hadn't noticed. It's got slightly different coloring than I am used to seeing - the red accents - and a problem with that right wing sticking out...

 In a show of amazing bug cooperation, it turned around so I could see that it is missing its right elytron. I don't know if it can still fly with its wing like that, it didn't demonstrate, but it can still hop, I assume.

 Ambush bug nymph

If you get the heebie jeebies from bugs, this picture is probably terrifying, but I think it's wonderful. Of course, you wouldn't be here if bugs gave you the heebie jeebies, but you get my point.

 Interesting that there are so few of those little beetles on this part of the plant...

 I think this is a sweat bee.

 I don't know why it does this, but it curls its body up while drinking nectar from the plant.

 The only reason I saw this hopper is that I saw it land on the ground in front of me.

This wasp was scraping up dirt from the ground and flying away with it to make a nest somewhere.

 I'm sure you can guess what's happening here.

 It's interesting that so many of these ambush bug kills I am finding involve two ambush bugs. I don't know if this is a mating thing, or one bug trying to steal another's kill, or do they share? I don't think I ever saw it before this summer, but this summer I see it a lot. Actually, I don't think I have ever seen so many successful ambush bugs before.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 The spider that my husband didn't see. It was less obvious in real life.

 I don't know if this spider doesn't like to eat those tiny beetles, but there is a lot of potential food right behind it.

 I have seen some flower crab spiders go after some ambitious targets, but when this bee came in for a landing on this flower, but spider scurried away from it.

I spotted the prey first for this one. It looked like a dead bug floating above a leaf. Since that is a peculiar circumstance worth a closer look, I looked closer. Only when I got down to really look could I see the spider and the web.