The Bugs in the Backyard: Front Yard Bugs

I probably never thought about it when I was growing up, but I think if I had, I would have assumed that fireflies could be found everywhere in the world. Actually, for most of my life I probably thought that, but then at one point about ten years ago I was writing a story that took place in England, and I wanted there to be fireflies in it, and it occurred to me to ask my English friend if there were fireflies there. There are not. I was kind of surprised, and I felt a little bit sad for the people in England who were deprived of the enchanting experience of watching fireflies on a summer night. My English friend did live in the US for a few years, though, and she was thrilled to finally be able to see fireflies. Because of course she had heard of them before. I just can't imagine what that's like, to have grown up hearing about fireflies, but not seeing them. So, at that point I found out that fireflies are not a global phenomenon, but I assumed that they were at least found everywhere on this continent. Well, I found out that that is not the case when I happened to be present when another friend of mine, who lives on the west coast, saw fireflies for the first time. I can still remember the wonder in her voice as she said, "Are those fireflies?" It was a wonderful thing for me to witness that, so I can't even imagine what that was like for her. Wait, actually, I can, because I think I experienced something similar the first time I saw the Aurora Borealis. I actually cried, and my husband was bewildered by my bawling, but I was so overwhelmed by the experience of seeing firsthand something I had always longed to see that I just burst into sobs. I always thought that I would have to take a trip to Alaska, or someplace like that to see it, and here it was in MY sky in my backyard. I have seen the Aurora Borealis four times total, all in my backyard, and every time was wondrous. But I have a friend who lives in Norway who has grown up with them, and it not especially moved by them now. So I don't have that sense of awe every time I see fireflies now, but I do love to see them. If you happen to be reading this from a place in the world that doesn't have fireflies, and have never happened to visit someplace that does during the summer, here's something you might not know - they don't wait until dark to come out. Fireflies start their light show at dusk, when there is still a little bit of light. If you want to catch fireflies this is really the ideal time to do it, because you can see them flying even when they are not lit up. Also because you don't trip over things as you run after them. I was outside at dusk this evening, watching the beginning of the fireflies' nightly light show, and I have to say, as charming as they are in the pitch darkness, they seem almost more magical before the sun's light has completely faded from the sky. I don't know why. I can't explain it. It might have to do with the fact that you can still see everything else, so you have more of a sense of fireflies appearing in your everyday space, which makes them feel more like fairies, or something else magical. I don't know. I just know that I am glad that they exist.

Funny how so many of the beautiful things in the world have to do with light - fireflies, lightning, meteors, stars, sunsets, the Aurora Borealis (or the Aurora Australis, if you live in the southern hemisphere).

Today, in a sort of pointless irony that is probably only amusing to me, most of the bugs I am going to feature on my blog of Backyard Bugs were found in the front yard of my house.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

When I first saw this insect on the sumac flowers I thought it was a beetle. But when I looked closer, I realized that it is a moth. The fuzzy wings are what first clued me in.

I found a similar moth in my book, but it had some very obvious differences, so I don't think the one in the book was the same one. Which is to say, I don't know what this is.

But what really helps to classify insects is sometimes their mouth parts, and that proboscis is definitely Lepidopteran, not Coleopteran. Which is to say, this is a moth, not a beetle, and you can tell by the long tongue that it uses to suck nectar from flowers. Which, come to think of it, makes me wonder how moths eat sweaters... Or is it really their larvae who eat the sweaters?

Tongue curling up

There's a tiny drop of nectar on its tongue.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #2:

I had already posted a Backyard Bug of the Day on facebook when I found this moth on the back porch, and it's so beautiful that I decided to make a little revision to have to BBotD today. It's not in my book, so I don't know what it is.

Such an adorable face...

The main reason that most of the bugs I found today were in the front yard of my house is because I found them on the sumac flowers, which are in the front yard. There were a lot more bugs than I managed to photograph, because not only were they busy, but extremely skittish - I am not used to that level of fear from bugs. Ironic, really, because most of them were bees or wasps, and therefore could have stung me.