I Can't Think Of A Title For This Post

Today was a nicer day in the backyard; it was sunny, beautiful, there was rain overnight to wash away some pollen, and I only found 3 ticks. Also, there were so many birds and frogs singing and trilling, and trees in bloom, and just all around springtime loveliness that it was impossible not to think the world is beautiful in spite of the gypsy moth caterpillars that are everywhere. Oh, and in spite of the fact that the poison ivy is starting to come out.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 A beetle. No, I didn't look it up because I know what I would find–about a million black beetles that look more or less like this. I couldn't get a closer shot of this one because there was a spider web between me and the tree, and I didn't want to break the web.

 It flashed its wings out a couple of times, and ultimately flew away.

And speaking of beetles I couldn't get close to...

 Six-spotted tiger beetle. This is the only shot I got.

 This squash bug (or leaf footed bug) was much more accommodating.

 Crane flies. The female is above.

 Do you see the gypsy moth caterpillar?

More crane flies. The female is the one above again. I haven't noticed before if that is usual, or just a random case with two pairs today. She is the one with the bigger body...

... and you can see her spike-like ovipositor.

 Click beetle

 Fly. Lots of flies around today.

 More amorous insects. I think these might be march flies. The female is above, with the bigger body but smaller eyes/head.

 

 Another pair. You know, I see a lot of really amazing pictures of insects on the internet that are a million times better than mine, and in a lot of cases I know that one of the reasons they are so good is because the photographer is taking a picture of a dead insect in a studio, with perfect lighting, and multiple exposures to be able to stack focus and have better depth of field (I know, kind of technical, but the point is, it's the computer editing that makes some of those pictures so great). Anyway, I'd like to see those photographers get a good shot of a mating pair of flies crawling up their thigh.

 Caterpillar that is NOT a gypsy moth.

Another non-gypsy moth caterpillar.

 Assassin bug

 I bought these flowers because they are beautiful, and because the tag at the home center said they attract butterflies. Well, so far no butterflies have been seen on the blossoms, and this bee is the first insect I have seen on them at all in the week or so since I bought them.

 Some kind of Hemiptera

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Today's theme: spiders in crevices of tree bark:

Well, not so much a crevice, and a piece of broken bark sticking out from the trunk.