Surprise!

I have a surprise for you...

Backyard Bug of the Day!

 Not only is this a Backyard Bug of the Day because it's not one of the three bugs I have been seeing for the last couple of weeks, it may actually be something I have never seen before. At this point I really can't remember everything I have seen, and I think I have at least seen things that are similar, but I am pretty sure this is a new bug for me. It is always a joy for me to find something new; after four years of observing the bugs in my backyard, it's pretty rare for that to happen anymore. I am sure that there are about a thousand species of insects in my backyard that I have never seen before, but they are well hidden, and I keep seeing the same ones. Granted, I have seen a LOT of species of bugs. But given how many there are, I have seen the tiniest drop in the bucket.

 Of course I have no idea what it is...

 It's small, but bigger than a springtail, as you can see from the springtail at the bottom of this picture. This rock was covered with springtails, too. And they were springing all over the place.

 I didn't notice while I was taking the pictures, because this thing was moving so fast it was all I could do to try to keep it in focus, but it seems to have very small wings. That makes me think that this is an immature something. It seems an odd time of year for an immature bug to be around, because there's not a lot of time left for growing (and in a normal December, it would be at least 20 degrees colder every day. But this is looking to be the warmest December on record, apparently), but as I have said before, the bugs know better than I do what is best for them. Anyway, this looks like it could be an immature beetle of some kind?

 Here's a zoomed in shot.

 There was this kind of springtail on the rock, too...

 Photobombed by a mite. Which I know is an arachnid, but it's not a spider, so I am hoping the arachnophobes who read this won't freak out...

 ... and speaking of mites, I saw another one today, on a tree...

 ... where it was photobombed by a springtail. I guess what goes around comes around. It's hard to se in this picture, because it's not in good focus, but it's below the mite.

 I didn't get any pictures where both the mite and the springtail were in focus...

 I saw a fly today, too.

Today was cooler than the last few days, which just means we only got into the mid-50s, instead of the 60s. It was still warm for December. But it was sunny, which the bugs seem to like. Strangely, though, I didn't see any winter crane flies. It was windy today, which was the advent of colder weather, but supposedly it will warm up again next week. We shall see...

Arachnid Appreciation:
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I had to empty the rain gauge after last night's almost 1 inch of rain, and found a spider lurking underneath again.