Aw, Gnats

I'm grasping at straws today. It's starting to be rather disheartening how few bugs I am seeing in the backyard these days. I still think it's due to a lack of rain - yes, it rained a little over a week ago, but that was a case of too little, too late, I think. Everything perked up briefly, but now we are back to being unusually arid. Clearly, the bugs don't like it.

Backyard Bugs of the Day:

 Gnats. I know, I know, but it was kind of interesting that there were clouds of them around the goldenrod. And as long as there were no clouds of them around my head, why not make them Backyard Bugs of the Day?

Random Bugs:

 Praying mantis

 Two assassin bugs.

It's curious how most of the bugs I have been finding lately are predatory. Praying mantis, different species of assassin bugs...

 Eggs on a leaf. Some of them have hatched.

 Lace bug.

 Bumblebee

 This is the second time lately that I have seen this species of hopper sitting with its elytra spread open. No idea why.

Big transformation today for the eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillar in the dining room:

 Final instar. It's getting ready to become a chrysalis. It spent much of the afternoon and evening wandering around, trying to find a place to make its big change. And by wandering around I mean it actually got out of the enclosure for a while. Luckily it was found before being stepped on.

The Furcula caterpillar was doing some interesting things today, so I took some video. Click HERE to watch the caterpillar do its thing. The most exciting bit is around the 50 second mark or so.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 I suppose the normal thing to do when you espy a spider crawling on your lunch plate is to fling away your waffles, but I am not normal, so I took a picture of it instead.

 It was quite a cute spider, after all.

Tiny, and fast. And not interested in having its picture taken.