More Thoughts On Flying

While we're on the subject of flight...

It was really windy today, which is a pain when you're trying to take pictures of bugs on plants. I was feeling personally aggrieved about this until I happened to see a bumblebee trying to land on a goldenrod plant that was being violently tossed by the wind. Whenever the bee would be about to land on the flowers, the flowers would move. The bee would zig, the plant would zag. It took about ten attempts for the bee to be able to land, and that only happened because the wind paused for breath.

I saw a moth land in a tree (intentionally, I think), and it looked like it was struggling to hang onto the branch, while its wings were buffeted about.

Poor bugs.

But I had other thoughts about bug flight today. You know how in the Star Wars movies there are scenes where the Millennium Falcon is flying around, under attack, while someone (Han, Chewbacca, R2-D2) struggles to get the hyperdrive working, and when they finally get it fixed, the Falcon zooms off and disappears? Sometimes I would swear that bugs have hyperdrive. I'll be watching a bug, on a plant, or flying, and suddenly it will zoom off, and even though I am following it with my eyes, it just seems to disappear. This is the point when I think it makes the jump to light speed. It's just a theory, but I am pretty sure that's what happens. It is the only logical explanation.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Assassin bug

 It appears to be a juvenile, because it doesn't have wings yet.

Random Bugs:

 Yes, it's a caterpillar

 Also a caterpillar, but you knew that. You probably also know it's a white hickory tussock moth caterpillar. It appears less fuzzy than usual, so I wonder if it's just had a molt.

 They are all over the yard, eating like mad. They are eating plants I would just as soon have gone, so more power to them. Help yourselves to all the invasive plants you want, Caterpillars! But back on the subject of you already knowing what this is (because you read this blog, natch): I saw a story on the internet yesterday that was "trending", about white hickory tussock moth caterpillars being found along a trail in a park in Pennsylvania. There were several news sites carrying this earth-shattering story, and they almost all mentioned that this is a caterpillar that is native to Canada, and they all made it sound like it was absolutely extraordinary to find it so far south. This seemed quite strange to me, not only because we have so many of them here, but also because I personally saw them in Pennsylvania last year. The articles also warned people not to touch them, because they are venomous (although they mostly said poisonous, not venomous, which is incorrect. Venomous and poisonous are not the same thing, and these caterpillars are venomous). Anyway, there was one sensible article that pointed out that the caterpillar is quite common in eastern Canada AND all down the east coast of the US, down to Georgia, and mentioned that most fuzzy caterpillars are venomous. The worst thing about this whole misinformation campaign was that a couple of the articles were accompanied by pictures of the wrong caterpillar. They talked about the white hickory tussock moth caterpillar, but showed a different caterpillar (one that I don't know, but I know it wasn't a white hickory tussock moth caterpillar.

Anyway, my point is... don't trust the internet. Also, new sites need to do more fact checking.

Looper

 Ant with... something

There weren't a lot of bees around today. It was cloudy, so maybe that's why... It did get to be into the 70s today, which I thought was interesting, because the forecast for the last 2 days was 70s, and we only got into the high 60s, and today was supposed to be cooler, and we finally got to the 70s. Oh, those weather forecasts! On the other hand, it did rain today, as forecast, so they got at least that right. Anyway, not a lot of sun, not a lot of bees, even though it was warm.

 There were a few bees, though.

 Photobombed by another bug

 Craneflies

 Candy striped leaf hopper. I saw a lot of these today, too. The colors I am seeing on these lately seem very subdued, and I wonder if that is significant, having to do with the time of the season, or the weather, or what? Or maybe nothing.

 Fly. I should really look this one up sometime.

 Arachnid Appreciation:
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