January Picnic

On this lovely January day with the temperature in the mid 50s we decided to eat our lunch outside in the arbor. Today was the kind of day that would be considered freezing in September, but was gloriously balmy in January, even a January that hasn't been all that cold most of the time. I shared a picture of our picnic on social media, and my mother commented that at this time of year at least there are no flies out.

But there were:

 There were several flies basking in the apricity* on the front of the house.

*Apricity means the warmth of the winter sun. In case that's a new word for you.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Also enjoying the apricity today were several candy-striped leaf hoppers.

 There were six or seven of these on one mountain laurel plant.

 And an ant.

 And something waiting for actual springtime, rather than just a spring-like winter day.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Harvestman...

 And I didn't notice these when I took the picture, but they do look like mites, so that would make them arachnids, not insects. Not that I can really tell. They were TINY.