I'm back! In case you're wondering, the technical reason for my absence is that I was out of the country, and don't have a camera lens that will let me take pictures of my backyard from 2,000 or so miles away. I've been in Iceland, where I didn't encounter any ticks, mosquitoes, or gypsy moth caterpillars. I did see a lot of moths–there are massive fields of lupine flowers, and many other species of wildflowers, and they are pollinated partly by moths, it would appear. I also saw hover flies and other species of flies pollinating flowers. I didn't see any bees, though. The other prominent insect was the midge, swarms of which annoyed us in certain parts of the country. They didn't bite, though, so I have no grudge against them.
As Iceland is situated just below the arctic circle, the sun did set, but it stayed just below the horizon, and wasn't gone for very long, so it never got dark the entire time we were there. However, we got home this evening just as the sky was almost completely dark, and before we even got up the driveway I was greeted by the enchanting sight of fireflies. I missed them while I was away.
I turned on the porch light in order to have something to post tonight. There were a number of moths, of course, and I got pictures of a few of them.
Backyard Bug of the Day:
Side view of the unusual way it stands.
Back view
Other bugs:
Beetle
Moth
Moth photobomber
Aw, crud–I just realized that this is a male gypsy moth. I was so distracted by its cool antennae that I didn't notice what kind of moth it was.
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