It's the Beetles!

Today I didn't see any gypsy moth caterpillars or ticks in the backyard, I didn't hear any chainsaws, it was warmer and a bit sunnier, so even thought I didn't find many more bugs than yesterday it was a much nicer day in the backyard.

Every spring when I am getting ready to ramp up the creepy crawlies facebook posts I mention to my facebook friends that I have block lists to keep people who are freaked out by insects, spiders, or snakes from having to see them when I post. Having dealt with a phobia myself for decades, I am totally sympathetic to how people might feel about seeing the pictures, even though I am not bothered by them myself. Most of my friends like or at least tolerate the pictures, and I have changed a few people's minds at least a little bit about the value and beauty of the less-loved creatures around us. I am pretty sure that today's Backyard Bug of the Day was trying to make my case for me that insects can be cute.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 See? Adorable.

 I tried to be a conscientious bug blogger and identify this for you, but the best I could come up with is that it might be a soldier beetle, and it might be a longhorn beetle of some kind. It really looks like one of the soldier beetles in Kaufman's Field Guide to Insects of North America, except that the antennae are too long. And it has long antennae like the longhorn beetles, but it doesn't look like any of the ones in the book. Of course, the book has only a tiny fraction of the number of species of beetles in the world, or even the country, so... suffice to say, it's a beetle.

 Most of the insects in the backyard today were beetles, in fact. It was something of a beetle invasion. So, since I don't know what this one is, let's just call him John.

 And this click beetle we can call Paul.

 And here on the leafy spurge with the ant we have George and Ringo.

 Then this would be Stu.

 And this ladybeetle can be Pete.

 

 And I think this is a species of bee I have never seen before. I love when that happens.

 A pair of flies

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 I know it's a terrible picture, but it's such a handsome spider!

This one has caught something.