Categories

Today's bug pictures can be categorized into three main categories:
1) Beetles
2) Things almost too small to see
3) Propagation of species.

Let's start with beetles, and Backyard Bug of the Day:

 I don't know what this is, aside from a beetle. I tried looking it up in several books, and didn't find it. I have seen these before, and I don't even think this is the first one I have seen this year, but what was notable about this, and the reason it is today's Backyard Bug of the Day is that they were all over the backyard today. I will see one occasionally, but today, they were out in numbers. Individual plants had multiples of them. It was very interesting. I would guess that they have all just emerged from whatever they did for the winter, whether they hid out as adults, or they overwintered as pupae, and have just eclosed.

 I didn't get a good picture, but there were two more of these within inches of this one.

 This raspberry vine had at least ten of them, spaced out along the vine.

And other beetles:

 Click beetle

Click beetle

Some of my pictures today fit into multiple categories, by the way. For instance, this next one is a beetle, and also something almost too small to be seen:

 Tiny springtail. This is the biggest magnification I could get with my lens, that is how small this is.

 Can you see it here?

Now for that third category, which was happening all over the backyard–propagation of species:

 Crane flies

 This pair landed on my arm (but this picture is on my hand).

 Winter fireflies (which are beetles)

 Stilt bugs

Some kind of fly. This is an amazing illustration of sexual dimorphism (different appearance/shape/form in the male and female of the species)

Other bugs:

 The dandelions look a little beat up after all the rain we had, but still attracting bees and ants.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Also in the category of almost too small to see. I had to look at it through the lens to even know it was a spider (though I suspected by the way it moved). It was an impressive jumper.

 Rain gauge–One spider outside, one inside...

Poor spider.