Backyard Bad News

Today was not a beautiful day in the backyard. It was cold. It was gloomy. The soundtrack was provided by chainsaws.

And the gypsy moth caterpillars began to hatch:

 So the scourge begins. Now we begin to pray for a wet spring, which will activate the fungus in the soil that kills them. Unfortunately, after a few really wet weeks about a month ago, we are back in a dry pattern where they keep forecasting rain but it doesn't really happen. It's really depressing thinking that there will be even more of these little monsters than there were last year.

Thank goodness for peach blossoms to cheer me up.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

I thought this was a gnat on a daffodil, but it turned out to be a tiny wasp.

I spotted this one from about twenty feet away:

 Rove beetle? Immature rove beetle?

Argh! Another unappreciable arachnid! I think I have already seen more ticks this year than any other three years combined.