Flurry

I knew what the forecast was for today. I even mostly believed it. We were supposed to get rain, starting in the afternoon. I knew I had to get out there before the rain started, but there was one other problem - it was really cold out. I didn't think there was much chance of finding bugs if I went outside when the temperature was in the 30s. But I had to get out there before the rain started. So, I waited until the temperature broke 40ºF, which is still cold, but I have noticed in the winter that if the temperature is above about 40ºF, you can usually find some kind of bug flying around, or basking somewhere, so I figured that would be minimally acceptable for bug hunting. There wouldn't be any bugs out basking, because there was heavy cloud cover, but you do what you can.

And then, just as I was about to go outside, I glanced out the window, camera in hand, and saw this:

Well, no, this is not the view out the window, I took this outside.  I added the arrows because it's a terrible picture, but what the arrows are pointing at are snowflakes. It snowed today. Yes, that was in the forecast. And no, it did not stick, eventually turning to sleet and rain, and then just rain, rain, and more rain. But it's a bit inconvenient for any kind of precipitation to be falling when I want to go out to find bugs! Well, I went out anyway, and kept my camera under my shirt when I wasn't taking pictures (which I only took when I was sheltered from the precipitation by the trees, many of which still have plenty of leaves. Fortunately, that's where most of the bugs were). The interesting thing about today's weather is that it was below freezing overnight, then warmed up to about 41ºF when I was outside, then dropped into the 30s in the late afternoon, and began warming up in the evening. By about 10:30 it was 45ºF. It's pretty unusual for the day's high temperature to come at 10:30 in the evening.

But enough about weather, we're here for the insects! It won't surprise you, I know, that I did not find very many of them. But it may surprise you that I found them at all.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Yes, an ant. I didn't have a lot of choice (and I thought that all of the other bugs had been BBotD already this year, which I now know they were not, but it's too late, I already made the ant BBotD).

 Another one, too.

 I know this is a bad picture, but that is why I am posting it. If you have ever wondered how hard it is to get pictures of insects, note that the ant, which would not sit still, is not in focus, but somehow I managed to catch a raindrop falling in focus.

 Raindrop.

Random Bugs:

 I checked the catalpa tree for bugs today because it's always been the most reliable for late season bugs, mostly because the leaves stay green longer than the other trees. I found the BBotD there, and also a couple of ladybeetles, though this one was the only one low enough for me to photograph.

This cricket was in the same place it was in yesterday.

 Tree cricket

Yet another cricket. Funny that crickets are basically an insect emblem of summer, and yet most of the bugs I found on the day of our first snow were crickets. I even heard a couple singing rather forlornly.

 Arachnid Appreciation:
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 If you want to know how tiny this spider was, compare it to the size of the raindrops.