I get daily quotes about nature posted on my internet homepage, and today's quote, from Emile M. Cioran, is about insects: "What would be left of our tragedies if an insect were to present us his?" I have no idea what the original context is for this quote.
Excuse me, there is a spider on the couch with me... Oh dear. I lost it. I like spiders, as you know, but not on the couch with me. Well, hopefully it will stay on the other end, and out of sight. Now, where was I...
Ah, yes. Emile M. Cioran. Never heard of him. The bio for his quote says he was a philosopher, born in 1911 in Romania. Obviously he was just making a metaphor about the human condition, and not really talking about bugs. Still, it can be rough being a bug. Even if you are one of the top bug predators, say, a praying mantis, there are many, many, many animals that are bigger than you and can eat you. And many, many, many people will kill you on sight, just because you're a "bug." Still, I think Mr. Cioran is unnecessarily dismissive of human tragedies. But I am not looking to compete with insects about whose life is rougher. I just do my best to make the world more pleasant for them.
Backyard Bugs of the Day:
Beetles, definitely. Weevils, maybe?
I didn't get a really good shot of them from any angle, and I tried several. But I think they might be a species I have not seen before, so that gets them BBotD status.
Random Bugs:
I had the window near the couch open last night an a firefly came to visit on the screen. I saw it because it flashed its light, but then when I tried to take a picture it refused to light up again.
I did two bug walks today, because the one I did this morning was rained out before I finished, so I did another when I got home in the early evening. This moth was in the same place during both walks.
This is one of the many moths that flitted around as I was walking. It is the only one that cooperated by landing on the ground in front of me and waiting for me to take a picture before flying away again.
Honeysuckle borer
Caterpillar
I'm still waiting for this one to molt...
Its ant minder came back.
With so many hopper nymphs around, I am finding a lot of hopper exoskeletons.
This was one of those "Is it a bug or a speck of something else" specimens. I decided it's a bug. Well, an insect, anyway.
My rate of successfully taking a picture of this kind of fly when I see it is about 30%.
Arachnid Appreciation:
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Crab spider
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