The Bugs in the Backyard: The Storm

We were hit with the effects of former Hurricane Hermine today; it was a little breezy and drizzled all afternoon. Just kidding, it was worse than that. There were two gusts that probably qualified as wind, and it rained a little in the afternoon, too. I did have to look for a break in the drizzle to go out to do my bug walk, though.

So all that means is that everything was very wet in the backyard today.

And that means there were sowbugs everywhere.

The only other difference I could see in the bug population today was that there were very few bees around. And by very few bees I mean I saw exactly 4. I stood next to the backyard's largest patch of goldenrod and every flower was completely devoid of bees (and other bugs, for that matter). But I found a new bug, AND a new spider today, so while I bemoan the general lack of bugs for this entire year, I still have to be impressed at the number of new species I have found in the last week (I don't remember how many, really, but insects and spiders combined it's at least 5 or 6, I think).

Backyard Bug of the Day:

I think this is a psyllid, which is a bit like an aphid. Kaufman's Field Guide to Insects of North America says that one difference between them is that psyllids can "leap away from danger." This one didn't leap - it must not have felt like it was in danger as I took 79 pictures of it - so I don't know that it has leaping capabilities. Another name for psyillids - the common name, basically - is jumping plant lice.

Random Bugs:

The first bee

The second bee

The third bee. What incredible eyes!

I didn't get a picture of the fourth bee.

White hickory tussock moth caterpillars were around, of course:

Where there's one...

... there is often another nearby.

The amusing thing about sawfly larvae (well, the second amusing thing, other than the ninja thing that some species do when alarmed) is that they congregate together on leaves, eating away at it, with the leaf getting smaller and the sawfly larvae getting bigger.

Not an insect

This is new for me, too. It looks a lot like a hoverfly, but I don't know if that's what it is.

Tree cricket, male

Some kind of caterpillar or other larva, in a silk web inside a curled up leaf.

Some other kind of caterpillar

Milkweed bug nymphs. I wonder what this cuddling-together behavior is all about.

Ant

We went out this evening, and being warm and humid, there were insects waiting on the porch when we got home:

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Today's first arachnids are not spiders, but harvestmen (daddy-long-legs):

I saw one of these, the dark, reddish one, sitting still on a tree trunk, and as I started to move closer to take its picture, it suddenly lunged downward, and as it did, I saw that there was another one moving up the trunk. The reddish one lunged at it and grabbed it. At first I thought it was attacking it as prey, but then it occurred to me that the second one was a female, and they were mating. There was a lot of pushing back and forth for a bit...

... and then they stilled, not moving much. Here you can see the male's pedipalps holding onto the female. Also, you can see that the male has a mite parasite. At this point my camera flash was dying, and it was quite dark in the woods, so I went inside to get new batteries. I was distracted by a few other things, so it was maybe 15 minutes later when I got back out there, and they were still there together, locked in this grappling embrace.

I think that blob of liquid is the male's packed of genetic information.

Crab spiders don't just sit on plants with their arms open, waiting to ambush things. They sometimes dangle from a thread with their arms open. I am not sure if they catch prey this way, but maybe. That would be pretty cool, actually.