Groovy

The most notable thing about my bug walk today was how many bugs were just completely unwilling to sit still and have their picture taken. I saw about 6 crickets, of at least three different species. You'll be seeing one. Now, crickets are, in general, extremely uncooperative, but today's bugs were just beyond the pale. It's been hours, and I am still kind of irritated. I might just be cranky because I am tired, though.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Ailanthus webworm moth. This is a pretty amazing moth, because... well, I probably don't have to explain it, you can SEE why it's amazing. I have never seen another moth that is so outrageous. It looks like it is made of 1970s wallpaper. It has flower patterns on its wings. It is also notable in that it is one of the few moths I can name without having to look it up.

 I think this was a female laying eggs.

We got a new picnic table, in kit form, and it spent last night with the tabletop part lying face down in the grass. When I turned it over to paint it, there were lots of bugs on it. This is the only one that I was able to get a picture of:

 Some sort of caterpillar, or other larva. It was quite small - probably less than 1/4 inch long. And fast.

 A pair of assassin bugs...

... and an assassin bug nymph. It's been a while since I have seen a nymph of this kind. I have been seeing a lot of the imago bugs, but not nymphs in a few weeks.

 Moth

 Better picture of the white marked tussock moth cocoon.

 Thorn mimic tree hopper

 The leaf is getting smaller...

 ... so some of the sawfly larvae have had to move to the other side.

 Small milkweed bug, and large milkweed bugs

 I promised you a cricket, and here it is - female tree cricket

 Assassin bug

 The sapling that was devoured by the black marked prominent moth caterpillars has some new growth at the top...

 ... and there is another caterpillar that has already done this to two of the tiny leaves. You can see the caterpillar's legs - it is lying on its back in there.

 I REALLY wish I had been able to get a good picture of this huge, outrageous fly...

 ... or this one, that looks very much like a bee.

 Bee and wasp on goldenrod.

 Moth

Leaf-footed bug

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Saw a couple of these today:

It's obviously the season for this spider. I saw them on tree trunks all the time last fall/early winter, and now I am starting to see them this year.