Everything Is Unexpected

I will never figure out bug behavior. Today was quite a bit cooler than yesterday, and I could hear plenty of crickets in the backyard. I had a few unexpected bug finds, too (although, at the moment, almost all the bugs I find are unexpected).

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Wearing black and orange for Halloween, I presume.

By the way, all the pictures are kind of dark because I didn't get a chance to do my bug walk until kind of late.

Random Bugs:

 Those flies are still around, this one having a difficult time clambering up onto a stem of grass.

 This one had a more secure spot.

 Case bearing caterpillar

 Woolly aphids

 Looper - haven't seen one of those in a while

 Hopper

 Candy striped leaf hopper

Arachnid Appreciation:
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An unusual sight - two spiders on a tree. I wonder what would happen if a bug landed right between them...

Edit to add:

 I went out a few minutes ago to try to see that spider again, and tada! It was in the middle of its web. I think I was right that it is something I haven't seen before. And I don't know what it is.

 On the way back into the house I found this jumping spider on the back porch.

On the Rocks

I've written before about the different microclimates in my yard, and specifically about how down by the rocks in front of the house tends to be warmer, because it's in direct sunlight, because the rocks retain heat, and because it's by the road. Today that difference was extremely obvious, with the area of the rocks being a tiny pocket of summer today.

It actually was pretty nice everywhere in the yard today, sunny, 60ºF, perfect except for the blustery winds, so I don't think there was any really compelling reason that there should have been bugs there that I am not seeing in the rest of the yard now, except for one thing - there is a small clump of asters growing there, and the rest of the yard is pretty much done with blooming flowers - it has been a while since I have seen any bees. Actually, that is a very compelling reason, and enough to explain most of the bugs I found. But it doesn't explain the presence of crickets. In the backyard I didn't hear any. The only singing came from birds. But down by the rocks (and I say down, because it is literally down a slope) I could hear crickets galore. And they are not there for nectar from the asters.

I wasn't even going to go down there with my camera today, but I did, and was glad.

But first, to the backyard, where I found the Backyard Bug of the Day:

Now, for the Bugs on the Rocks:

 Bees.

 Quite a few bees. And they weren't very polite to each other.

 There were even a couple of species of bees, not just bumblebees (I didn't get them all. Some of them were too fast).

 An assassin bug

 Small milkweed bug (with my hand in the background. I had to hold the plant steady in the wind).

Now, back to the backyard...

 These flies were still around in impressive numbers, both sitting on plants and swarming today.

 Here's what they look like when they are about to fly away - you can't see the wings either because of the angle or because they are moving too fast. (Another cameo appearance by my hand - which is probably why it flew away. Stupid wind).

And one from the front porch:

 Moth

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 This was a pretty exciting find for me today. I haven't seen any of the big orb weavers this year that I usually see in the autumn, and have been pretty bummed about it. This one isn't a big spider like the shamrock orb weaver, but it was bigger than the orb weavers I have been seeing. Unfortunately, I didn't get a look at it from the other side, so I couldn't tell what it was (if, by some strange chance, it was actually one of the few spider species I know).

 This is the point where it decided I was too close and scurried off into its bower. I hope to get a better look tomorrow.

This one was down by the rocks. Here it is hiding from me between the rock and a leaf.

Tropical

Ah, today was a balmy, beautiful day after a tempestuous night - we got 2.75 inches of rain, the temperature was 68ºF at 2:00 in the morning (and the high today was in the 70s), and it was just a lovely, lovely fall day (Only one problem - there was something in the air that made me sneeze). I wish more bugs could have been here to enjoy it.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 It's a lot like yesterday's Backyard Bug of the Day, but with black wings instead of clear. And bigger. This one seems to have a problem with its wings. They look damaged, and like they are not supposed to be at that angle when the bug is at rest. Also, I didn't see it fly at all, just walk.

Speaking of yesterday's Backyard Bug of the Day, remember that I said that around this time of the year they are all over the place?

 Today they were all over the place.

 Specifically, all over the raspberry plants, which are about the only thing left with green leaves. This plant had about five or six on different leaves.

 This shows only two, but that branch of the plant had a bunch of them.

Random Bugs:

 Weevil hiding out under the rain gauge.

 Ladybug

 Fly

Once again the most interesting thing I saw in the backyard was not a bug. It wasn't even an animal. Or a plant. It was a fungus:

 These are teeny, tiny mushrooms crowing in the crevices of tree bark. Each one has a cap about a millimeter wide.

 They were growing all over the base of this tree.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Daddy-long-legs

I wonder if that gray thing is anything...

Fast Paced Drama

I wasn't going to do a blog today, because it started raining this morning literally just as I was about to go outside (and when I use the word literally, I use it correctly, so you know this is not an exaggeration. It wasn't raining, I started walking toward the door to go outside, and when I got to the door, it was raining), and then rained all day, so I didn't get to do a bug walk. But then shortly before midnight I saw a bug marching across my living room floor, so I took its picture, and now there is a Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I know, it's a terrible picture, but the bug was moving and it was in a dark corner. It is a western conifer seedbug, a Hemiptera, and one that I renamed Darcybug for reasons too complicated to explain here. I actually spotted it in the kitchen yesterday, but it disappeared really fast so I didn't get its picture then (or get a chance to capture it for release outside).

Anyway, I took it's picture, put the camera down, and left the room for a minute, and when I came back, the bug was gone. So, once again I missed my chance to capture it and release it outside (and it's pretty nice outside - just after I took the picture I looked at the weather sensor and saw that the temperature has reached 64ºF. The high in the afternoon was in the mid-50s, but around 10:00 it started warming up. This is, I assume, because the source of the current rain is the remnants of Hurricane Patricia, which made its way all the way here from the Pacific Ocean, bringing a nice, tropical feel along with it. But I digress).  Like I said, the bug moved fast. So, I uploaded the pictures to the computer to post the Backyard Bug of the Day, and realized how horrible the pictures were, and decided I would look for the bug to try to get a better one. I still had two minutes until midnight, which is the cutoff for the Backyard Bug of the Day.

I found the bug, and... well, now it's time for Arachnid Appreciation:
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Aaaaand, that's that. I know that many, many, many people would be horrified by my allowing spiders to live in the corners of my home, but spiders are harmless to me, and they eat other bugs. Exhibit A.

Flit, Fly

I'm out of ways to say that there aren't a lot of bugs out there...

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I think this is a March fly. I don't know why it is called that, when it is active in the fall, but I think that's what it is. Around this time of year I usually see them resting on leaves all over the yard. Today I saw this one. I think these are also the same bugs I see swarming, ala the pictures I took yesterday. If that is the case, then this is definitely not the only one around, just the only one I saw today. There were no swarms today.

Random Bugs:

 I am not sure if this is a mosquito or some kind of fly.

 Crane fly

 Fly

It's all flies today...

Except... Arachnid Appreciation:
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