Tiny Aliens

From a human perspective, bugs are very weird, alien creatures. In fact, I sometimes wonder if the stereotypical image of what aliens from space look like might come from looking at insects here on earth. Have a look at a praying mantis and then think about it. Not that I can show you a praying mantis right now, because I didn't see one today, but when you get a chance. But I digress a bit. The point I want to make is, some bugs are weirder than others. Which brings us to today's Backyard Bug of the Day.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This is a Case Bearing Leaf Beetle larva. I have seen them before, in a manner of speaking, which is to say that I have seen their cases stuck tight to leaves, and on occasion the tiniest glimpse of the tip of a leg. This is the first time I have seen one walking around, and the first time I have had a glimpse of one's head. What is weird (and gross) about them is that the case they bear is made out of their own feces. If I recall correctly from when I read about these last year, when the female beetle lays her eggs, she covers them with feces, and then the larvae hatch and use the egg as the beginnings of a case, which they add to with their own feces over time. All I can say is, it's great to be human.

Random Bugs:

 I don't know why I think this is funny, but I do. It's definitely not funny for the aphids, though. If you look carefully you might be able to see that the ladybeetle is already eating an aphid, and there is another aphid on the opposite side of the plant stem from where the ladybeetle is.

 Katydid nymph

 

 The katydid nymph was sharing a leaf with a candy striped leaf hopper.

 No idea what's going on here...

 Hopper nymph

 Color variation of candy striped leaf hoppers

 I sometimes wonder about the moths I see on the front porch, attracted to the porch light at night. I wonder what they do when they are not on the front porch. I found one today that is one of the species I have been seeing on the porch (and my hand) lately.

 Some day I will find out what kind of bug this nymph will grow up to be...

 I don't think I have ever looked at one of these from this viewpoint.

 Stink bug nymph

Some Interesting Insect Interaction:

 I see these tiny flies sometimes, and they are fun to watch because they walk around waving their wings. I don't know what the waving is for, but it reminds me of the workers on the tarmac at airports who wave those paddles to direct planes. I assume that for the insects there is some kind of signal being made this way, either to attract a mate or to claim territory, but I don't know. Anyway, there were a few of them on this branch, which, unfortunately, was a little too high above my head to take good pictures. Here you see the wings raised...

 ... and here the wings are flat.

 Very pretty iridescence.

 Then came the confrontation.

 Wings were waved...

 ... they approached each other...

 There was a scuffle...

 One chased the other away. That certainly seems like a territorial thing, but it could still be a mating thing, and one of the two was not interested.

 I happened to find yesterday's BBotD again. I only found it because I was looking at something on this branch through the lens on the highest magnification, and the larva happened to be within the scope of it. Otherwise I would never have spotted it. This thing is TINY.

Also, somewhat uncooperative.

 Interesting thing about this fly. I see it (or one like it) every once in a while, and almost always in just about the same spot on the same tree.

 And away it goes...

 There is a tree growing through my back porch (much to my delight, and my husband's annoyance, but at the moment he is humoring me. Little does he know that having a tree growing through my porch is sort of a dream come true for me. The only way it could be better is if it was growing through the house, but that would be a little impractical). This tree is fairly attractive to bugs - here's a couple of leaf hoppers and I think a click beetle on a leaf.

 But right now, MOST of the other leaves are covered with ants.

Speaking of things covered with ants, maybe this is too gross, and I shouldn't post it, but here it is - a picture of an earthworm covered in ants.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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I came upon this scene of what I thought were two insects on a leaf, but a closer look showed me it was an insect (a fly) and a spider. The spider was mildly entangled in the web that the spider has woven across the leaf, but it fought its way out.

The spider chased it anyway, but the fly got away.

I think the spider was in a mood of consternation here.

So many spiders are walking around my backyard without the full complement of eight legs.

Orchard orb weaver