Early Bug Hunter

I got up an hour early this morning so that I could do my bug walk before we went out for the day. I am not a morning person. I was pretty optimistic about it, giving myself an hour to look for bugs (and I used up the hour), though I was a little skeptical about finding much, because it was chilly last night. I forgot to check what the temperature was when I went out, but it was 62ºF when I came in. It was sunny, though, and quite a lovely morning. And I found a decent number of bugs.

Backyard Bugs of the Day:

 Sawfly larva

 Or I should say, larvae.

Random Bugs:

 I found another one of these today, and it has a different pattern on it, and is also anchored to a leaf. I asked for help online in the insect group on facebook, and was told it is the pupal case of a moth (well, caterpillar) from the family heliozelidae. They are leaf-miners, and use a bit of the remains of the leaf they have mined to make this case.

 This was the first insect I saw today, and I took its picture just in case it was the only insect I saw.

 Ambush bug with beetle prey

 These are beetle larvae, but I can't remember what kind of beetle. Maybe potato beetle? A lot of people don't like bugs, as we all know, and in particular they don't like bugs that eat the plants in their yards, but even given that I like bugs, and mostly don't care if they eat the plants in my yard, I am happy to see these larvae eating this plant, which is a species of nightshade, but I refer to it as nemesis. This plant is a major reason why I don't walk around outside barefoot.

 I have been thinking that these are immature small milkweed bugs, but the possibility exists that they are nymphs of the large milkweed bug. Hopefully they will stick around long enough after they reach their imago (adult) stage so that I can see what they become.

 Hopper

 White hickory tussock moth caterpillars

 Plant hopper, possibly Acanalonia conica

Hover fly, somewhat sodden from dew

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Dewy web in the grass

Crab spider hiding in a purple coneflower