Bath Time

I didn't find any bugs on my bug walk today. I saw a couple of tiny things fly past the window when the temperature rose into the 40s, and the sun was out, but the sun went away by the time I got outside, and I didn't find any bugs at all. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

So why am I blogging? Because even though this blog is called The Bugs in the Backyard, it's not just about the bugs in the backyard, it's also about the other things living there. So, I've got something other than bugs to show you today.

It got very cold last night. We had rain on Saturday, so the birdbath was full. Last night, the birdbath froze.

 A pair of bluejays trying to drink from the birdbath. At this point the temperature was 34ºF, so slightly above freezing, and the birdbath is in the sun, so there was a little bit of melting along the edges, and I think the birds were able to get some water.

 This is not as sweet as it probably looks. I just took the picture during the wrong nanosecond to give you a better idea of what was happening...

 ... But it ended up like this.

 I guess this looked like a better spot for drinking.

Still not great.

A couple of hours later, when I was outside, it was all melted.

So, FYI, I will continue to do bug walks as long as the weather seems plausibly buggy, but I will only blog on days where I have something to show for it. At this point I am not going to bother if all I find are winter crane flies or other flies. It would have to be something interesting. And since today was in the low 40s and I found nothing, it's not looking good for more blogs this year. If I don't see you until spring (okay, that's not 100% likely), have a happy new year.

Learning By Watching

I've been debating about whether to write a blog post tonight. Obviously, I decided yes. The reason I wasn't going to is that I didn't see anything in the backyard today that I have not posted pictures of a million times before. Or at least, nearly every day for the last two weeks. But then I looked at the pictures I took today, and decided to show some of them to you.

But first, let me expound a bit on something that I mentioned yesterday, which is that some of the things I have learned about bugs I have learned just from my own observations. I haven't found out anything new to science (that I know of), or anything monumental like that, but it is a good feeling to realize you have figured out something you didn't know before. For instance, today I spent most of my time outside in the backyard observing multiple swarms of winter crane flies. Swarming bugs have been a popular item in the backyard for several weeks, first the March flies, and now the winter crane flies. What I realized today is that they behave differently. When I have seen swarms of March flies they might be anywhere in the yard, over the lawn, or the flower beds, on the paths. When they are not swarming, the March flies rest on leaves on plants. The winter crane fly swarms, however, I find next to trees. The crane flies bob up and down in their swarms, and when I get to close, they land on the ground, whether on the leaf litter, or on the dirt, whatever is on the ground by the base of the tree. Perhaps not important observations, but now I know if I see a swarm on the lawn, they are probably March flies, and not winter crane flies. Of course, the fact that the March flies disappeared right around the time the winter crane flies started swarming means I am not likely to confuse them - their seasons don't have much overlap.

So, as for the pictures:

 As you may have noticed, it's not so easy getting pictures of swarming bugs, these in particular, because they sort of disappear into thin air when I get too close to them. Well, they land on the ground, anyway. But this swarm today let me get close enough that you can actually see that they are crane flies! Not that it isn't fun when they look like fairies...

 I saw several swarms today, all much larger than the swarms I have seen in the past - maybe 50-100 insects instead of 12. Huge difference.

 Aaaaaand then they land and disappear. There are several in this picture, see if you can find them (sometimes all you can find is their shadow).

Other bugs:

 Fly

 Fly

?

I didn't see any arachnids to appreciate today, but there have been spiders active in the backyard, because there were threads all over the place - not full webs, but individual threads going from plant to plant, or branch to branch, or across a path.

Moth?

I've learned a lot about bugs, insects, spiders, and other arthropods over the last four years, but the more I learn, the more I realize I know next to nothing about any of those things. Yes, at this point I probably know more than the average person who is not an entomologist, but the average person who is not an entomologist probably really does know nothing. Like that not all insects are bugs. A lot of what I have learned has come from just observing the insects themselves, although I don't always know what their behaviors mean, and can only speculate. Much of what I have learned has come from reading, either in insect field guides or on the internet, though I never believe the stuff on the internet 100%. It is always taken with a grain of salt. Some things, though, I have tried to learn, and looked them up in many places, and still end up confused, either because I read conflicting information, or because I see insects behaving in ways that don't match up with what I read.

Take this moth:

 Very early on in my bug watching days, and maybe even before I got into insect macrophotography, I started trying to find out the difference between moths and butterflies. They are both Lepidoptera, and the vast majority of Lepidoptera are moths. So what is the difference between them? Well, moths have thicker bodies. They also have feathery antennae, whereas butterflies have antennae like we all drew on pictures of bugs as kids, kind of a wand with a ball on the end. And another thing that is supposed to differentiate them is the way they hold their wings when they are at rest. See the insect in this picture? That is how butterflies hold their wings. Moths are supposed to hold them down along their bodies. So you see my problem. I have read these same differences from multiples sources. So why is this moth holding its wings like this? Is this not a real, legitimate difference between moths and butterflies? Is this moth a freak? Is this just something moths do on occasion? This definitely has moth antenna (not that you can see them well in this picture). I think it is the same species as the 5 or 6 other moths that were on the porch tonight, all of whom held their wings in the way moths are supposed to, like this:

What is the answer? I have no idea. I am sure the moth knows what it's doing.

These two moths are all I've got for you today; it rained all day, so I couldn't do a bug walk, and had to rely on the porch light to see any bugs at all (5 or 6 of these moths and 1 gnat).

Fesity

Today was exactly what we were promised, sunny, warm (63ºF was the high), and I enjoyed being in the backyard, but there was something weird about it. I think everyone has heard about how much smells are connected with memories, like the way the smell of bread baking can make you think of your grandmother's kitchen (actually, for my grandmother it would be chocolate chip cookies). Well I had an experience today that was sort of like that, where I connected the sensations of one sense with another. I am not making sense, am I... It was warm today, and it was quiet, and it felt weird to me, because being warm, feeling the warmth of the air on my skin (which included my legs because I wore shorts today. Days like today are why it takes me so long to put away my summer clothes), I realized that I expected to be hearing crickets and katydids. The feeling of summer should have been connected to the sounds of summer, according to my brain. It didn't seem to mind the lack of leaves, and the totally different quality of the sunlight, but the sounds of insects was totally lacking. I was a bit surprised not to hear any - it wasn't so long ago that they were to be heard on nicer days, and they don't die or hibernate for the winter, they go into a state of arrested animation called diapause, which will only happen when it's freezing, and they come out of it when its not. Not that they will sing in the winter, even when it's above freezing. But last year I was hearing at least a solitary cricket down by the rocks into December. I walked down there today, not a cricket to be heard.

However, I did find a fairly good selection of bugs today. Including one that I don't think I have ever seen, which is Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I don't know what it is. I tried to look it up, but I didn't even know where to look. It mostly looks like an ant, but not like any ant in my book. It looks a little bit like a beetle, but not much. It's really small, too.

The great thing about a warm day is that you find more bugs, and different ones than you find when it's colder. The bad thing is, the bugs are more active. It's much easier to take a picture of a sluggish bug. That is not what I found today:

 On the bright side, I did get a shot of a bug about to fly. Sadly, not in focus.

 Ladybug

 Hoppers, of course, because it was in the 60s. Not as many as I expected to see, though.

 I think these are winter craneflies. They were swarming yesterday, but not today.

There were a couple of times today that I saw moths, but what would happen is there would be a moth on a tree or plant and I would not see it until I got close, and then it would fly away, and I wouldn't be able to get its picture. But one of the times this happened, the moth flew down to the ground and landed right in front of me. Here is the good picture of the moth, to be followed by the interesting pictures of the moth:

 This is how I first saw it:

 But what I noticed when I saw it land, is that there was another bug crawling on the ground nearby, which I don't think you can see in this picture, but I saw it while I was standing there. I figured it was an ant, but then I looked closer...

 It was not an ant. Can you see it?

 Here's the same picture, and I've circled the bug.

 It walked very close to the moth...

 The bug is circled here, too...

 So, here's the bug. It was moving fast, so I didn't get a good shot at it...

 Here's the above picture zoomed in. If I'd gotten a good picture it would be BBotD. This might be a new one for me.

Whatever that bug is, it was not the only one around:

A few steps further and the moth went all Taylor Swift on the ant and shook it off. The ant came back a few more times, though, and each time the moth shook it off, and once poked at it with its leg. What surprised me is that it didn't fly away, either because of the ant or because of me.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving! Do you know what we should all be thankful for? Well, you probably know what I am going to say, but I am going to say it anyway - we should all be thankful for INSECTS! And why should we be thankful for insects? Because as pollinators of plants, they are the reason that so many of the delicious foods of your Thanksgiving feast even exist. So, thank you insects! Thank you pollinators! Thank you for everything you do to make life on this planet work, even though so many of the people on the planet think that they only thing you're good for is to be squished. You're awesome insects!

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Ladybug

Random Bug:

Moth on the kitchen window. I didn't really get to do a bug walk today. Yes, I did go out with my camera, but I also went out with a bunch of people, and they had my attention instead of the bugs. I did look, though. I just didn't see any. I also didn't get to cover most of the yard, because I didn't have time. So this moth was a bonus for me, because I saw it land on the kitchen window. I went outside to get the picture. It's too bad I didn't really have time for the bugs today, because it was a nice day temperature-wise, so maybe I would have found more if I'd spent the time.

Also, sorry about the lack of post yesterday. I did do a bug walk yesterday, and I did find bugs - some surprising ones, too, given that it was chilly (like leaf hoppers, which I don't usually see if its in the 40s), but I just had too much to do to have time to write a blog post. And since nothing I got a picture of was new and different, or even anything I had not posted in the last week or so, I took a day off.

Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 60s. It could be really good...

Edit: I wrote this blog without actually looking at the pictures from yesterday, and now that I have, I am going to break a rule that says all pictures from a blog have to be from that day. Well, I took a pretty awesome picture yesterday, so I am going to share it:

 What's so great about that? It's just an ant, you say? An ant carrying something...

 Here's the zoomed in view. The any is carrying a caterpillar. This is not a big ant. That is a tiny, tiny caterpillar. Also, you should be impressed that I got this picture in focus, because this little ant was moving fast. Sorry I am becoming so vain, always telling you to be impressed with my admittedly amateur skills. But come on, this ant looks cool.

Hiding

Today was marginally less bone-chilling, so taking my bug walk was marginally more pleasant. The fact that there were several bugs to be seen made it much better. Mostly I saw bugs flying, tiny blurs of wings. And the bugs today - and other recent days - seem to favor the underside of the remaining leaves as a resting spot. If it was me, I would prefer the sunny side to soak up whatever warmth I could, but I am not a bug, so what do I know?

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 To be honest, I don't know if this has been Backyard Bug of the Day yet. I don't really care, I like the picture. Not on the underside of a leaf, but hiding on the stem of a plant, under a leaf.

Random Bugs:

 On the underside of a leaf.

 I don't know if this is a bug or not...

 Zoomed in, still can't tell. I mean, it doesn't look like a bug, but it looks like part of a bug. Or a cocoon?

Arachnid Appreciation:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Do you remember how last winter there was a spider that lived underneath the rain gauge, and it stayed alive almost all the way to spring, and then died? The rain gauge has a new tenant. I think it is a different species of spider than last year.

Tiny, handsome spider on the shed.

THE Bug

I spent most of my frigid bug walk today trying to decide whether or not I should post a blog about the fact that I didn't find any bugs today, or if I should just not post a blog because I didn't find any bugs today. Then I found a bug. A bug. One. I didn't even see any other bugs. But, I did find that one bug, and so here I am, writing a blog post.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I don't know what it is, but it is pretty cute, and really, really small. This is as close as I could get with the lens, which should tell you how small it is. You should be amazingly impressed that I even saw this thing.

Here's a different shot zoomed-in so you can see that adorable face better.

And that's it. The Backyard Bug of the Day really is THE Backyard Bug of the Day, the only bug in the backyard. If I don't post tomorrow, you'll know it's because I didn't find any bugs at all. But we'll see what happens - the backyard is constantly surprising me.

Dodging Raindrops

I took an abbreviated bug walk today in a brief break in the rain. The break wasn't long enough for me to explore much of the backyard, but I have a feeling I didn't miss much. What I did find for Backyard Bug of the Day was interesting, though, because it is something that was on my list earlier of things I was not seeing in the backyard, and my hypothesis about why I was not seeing them was because of a lack of rain. Well, we've had a slightly more normal rain pattern in the last two weeks or so, and I have been starting to see them again. Today was the first time I saw them in numbers.

What am I talking about?

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Springtails. I have posted pictures of a couple of different kinds of springtails lately, and this kind even photobombed the BBotD a couple of days ago. In the past I have seen them in large numbers, particularly on the tree pictured here. I have been looking for them lately, and have not seen them. But today, there they were about ten of them in the area where I was looking. They are tiny, and kept moving, so I didn't get any great shots, but I think they are adorable. They look like tiny little robot bugs.

 Here's another one, different coloring.

On my way back to the house when it started to rain I happened to look down and was surprised to see a moth on the path.

 When I leaned down to look closer, I saw that the moth was no more...

Speaking of moths...

 The biggest bug surprise today was that there were moths attracted to the porch light tonight, with the temperature in the low 40s and sleet coming down.

Arachnid Appreciation:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

 Another spider in the house today. A jumping spider. I love that it looks like it is wearing purple eye shadow.

Change of posture - getting ready to jump, I thought, but it didn't.