Quick Change

I had a bit of a shock when I stepped outside today. It was cold out there. I was not expecting cold. Yes, the temperature dropped into the 50s overnight, but it was almost 90ºF yesterday, how could it be cold? When I went back inside and checked the temperature, it was 68ºF. That's not really cold, it just feels cold the first time you feel it on a sunny September day, particularly a sunny September day that looks just like the previous sunny September day, which was HOT. In a couple of months, 68ºF will feel pleasant. Next March it will feel glorious. But today it was cold. As I write this the temperature is once again in the 50s, after reaching a high of 72ºF (my ideal temperature), but the low tonight is expected to be in the 40s. When I was outside a little while ago the crickets were still singing vociferously, but I wonder if they will be keeping that up as the temperature drops in the wee small hours. I may just go out to have a listen.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I tried to identify this, but it just doesn't exactly match anything in the book. The closest guess I have is banded tussock moth caterpillar.

 I found it when I went out to check if yesterday's Backyard Bug of the Day caterpillar was still there. Can you spot it?

 That orange detail is what's confusing my identification.

 

 Yes, yesterday's Backyard Bug of the Day is still hanging around.

While we're on the subject of caterpillars...

 I've never seen that happen before.

Still lots more around.

 This brown hooded owlet moth caterpillar has grown in the last couple of days (not that you can tell from the pictures. You'll have to take my word for it). It's still on the same plant, but in a different spot, although it doesn't appear to have eaten much.

 I think that hole is one of its spiracles, the holes through which they breathe.

Today was a day of crickets, too:

 This is the cricket that lives under the rain gauge. I see it every time I have to empty some paltry amount of water out of the gauge.

Different species of cricket

 Crickets are very shy...

 This is a male tree cricket, I think a snowy tree cricket.

 

 The goldenrod was overwhelmingly populated by honeybees today, which is always good to see.

There were other bees, too, though, of course.

And  hover flies...

 

 And I think this is a spittle bug.

One thing I have noticed about the goldenrod this year is what is NOT there. There are not huge masses of tiny beetles, like there usually are. There are no looper caterpillars, like their usually are. I think I have only seen one flower crab spider there. I haven't seen any case bearing moth caterpillars, although it might be early for them. Even though I have seen ladybeetles, I have not seen any aphids.

The large milkweed bugs seem to have moved on, and now there are only small milkweed bugs. This one's elytra are askew.

 Here's another test of your bug-spotting abilities:

 I think this is a caddisfly.

 Stilt bugs on asters.

There is a patch of asters in part of the yard, and a good number of them had stilt bugs sitting on them today.

 Arachnid Appreciation:
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 This might be a marbled orb weaver. I'll need to see it outside of its bower to know for sure. I should have taken a picture of the bower from the side - I'll do that tomorrow if it's still there. I went out after dark to try to see it building a new web, but no such luck. If it is a marbled orb weaver, though, it will probably be sticking around in that spot for a while, so I hope to be able to see it better some other time.