Strange Interactions

Today was National Get Outdoors Day, according to the National Park Service, and while I try to get outdoors pretty much every day, and am constantly exhorting readers of this blog to do so, today was one of the few days when I didn't enjoy it. There was some unexpected rain (more unexpected than usual - I am always surprised when it rains on days it is forecast, because the forecast is so often wrong, but today it wasn't even forecast, so imagine how surprising the rain must have been. On the other hand, the lack of rain in the forecast probably should have clued me in that it would rain, given the general accuracy of forecasts). The rain was not what made it so unpleasant outside - I didn't go out until it stopped raining, though come to think of it, I should walk in the rain more. Obviously it's no go for the camera, but it's nice on its own. Anyway, I went out when the rain stopped, and even though it was a bit cool out (the high today was only 70ºF) the humidity was overpowering. I didn't like it at all, and neither did most of the bugs - I hardly found any (aside from sowbugs. They LOVED it). I ended my walk soggy, and with very few bug pictures.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 A beautiful little Hemiptera of some kind. You probably can't tell from the picture, but this bug is about 1/8 of an inch long (not including the antennae).

 My favorite thing about it is the bright green of its abdomen.

Random Bugs:

 Like I said, there were a lot of sowbugs around. There were at least 50 on this boulder.

A bit of insect drama:

A beetle, with an aphid to eat.

Along comes another beetle. It wanted the aphid.

 There was a scuffle, and the first beetle retreated to the other side of the leaf. Then along came another beetle, which was also interested in the aphid. As far as I could tell, the original beetle is the one that ended up with it, and the other two left, probably feeling disgruntled. I don't know what the fuss was all about - there are a LOT of aphids, and they don't move fast. It should be no trouble for the other two beetles to find aphids of their own.

 There are some insects called skeltonizers (like the grape leaf skeletonizer moth, which in its caterpillar stage feeds on grape leaves). This is what they do to leaves. (This is actually an oak leaf, not a grape leaf, so some other kind of skeletonizer is responsible).

 Remember this from the other day? I found out from a friend that it is a gall. Inside there are insect eggs, of the wool sower gall wasp. This is one of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen in my backyard, that a wasp lays eggs in a twig of a tree, and THIS is what the tree does in response, it makes this huge, fluffy ball. And what's most interesting about it to me is that it only does this in response to an insect laying eggs in its tissues - well, the fact that a tree responds to anything at all is mindblowing when you think about it, but what a response! It doesn't make this for any other reason, without that stimulus. Amazing.

Do you see the caterpillar AND the sawfly larva?

Do you recognize these aphids? They have a new species of ant tending to them today.

So many ants - these aphids are well protected from beetles.

Fly of some kind

This looper was about a quarter inch long. I discovered it on the same plant as the BBotD, when I realized after taking pictures of the BBotD that I almost squished this with my hand. You can get a good view of the six eyes on this side of its head.

Here's a zoomed-in shot, to really see those eyes.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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A spider building a web, that I accidentally broke (the web, not the spider). I felt really bad about it.

Here's the spider, having scurried off in high dudgeon. That Voldemort-ish face on its back did not lessen my guilt any.

Same kind of spider, only I did not wreck this one's web.

Jumping spider

This year I have seen more snakes in my backyard than the average five years combined, I think. And a couple of them have been weirdly docile. Like the one I saw today:
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Same species I always see, ribbon snake or garter snake, I am not sure. I almost stepped on this one, and it had no reaction.

In fact, the whole time I was looking at it, getting very close to it with my camera, its only reaction was to flick out its tongue twice. I know today was a cooler day, but I don't think it was anywhere near cold enough to make the snake so torpid.

Remember, these pictures were taken with a macro lens - this snake let me get within inches of its face with my camera, with no reaction.

But you want to know what was REALLY gross?

There was a SLUG crawling on its back! No reaction from the snake. It was only later when I was thinking about it that it occurred to me that garter snakes eat slugs. I went by there later and the snake (and slug) were gone. I will always wonder how that meeting turned out... Did the snake eventually realize that there was a slug on its back and eat it? Did the slug go along on its merry way without the snake ever knowing? Only the snake and the slug know...