I almost didn't get to do a bug walk today. I was gone most of the day, which didn't really matter because it was raining, and then it was evening when I got home. Because of the rain (well, heavy overcast skies), it was kind of dark, though at least it had stopped raining when I got home. And weirdly, after two days in the 90s, I am not even sure we got to 70ºF today. So I went out not knowing if I would find anything. I changed the batteries in my flash halfway through my bug walk yesterday, so that at least improved my ability to take pictures in the dim light. It didn't, however, make it easier to find bugs in the woods, where it was quite dark. Anyway, I had no trouble at all finding mosquitoes.
So, the most interesting thing I found on my walk was two bees that were in exactly the same place they were in yesterday when I did my bug walk (I took pictures of them then, but they didn't come out well enough to post):
The sumac flowers have been attracting a lot of insect interest lately, as you know, but yesterday and today they were deserted except for a few bumblebees. Yesterday several of them were sitting on the flowers in a stupor, but a couple were flying around; today they were all sitting in a stupor. This one was in exactly the same place it was yesterday. Looking quite bedraggled from the rain.
I can't imagine why this one is not all soaked in rain.
Backyard Bug of the Day:
A fly, with mesmerizing eyes.
I wish I'd been able to get a picture from a few other angles, because I suspect the eye color is different from different viewpoints.
Other bugs:
Tiny grasshopper, who I saw because it hopped on a blade of grass.
Leaf hopper
Hopper nymph
Looper caterpillar on black-eyed Susan
Stinkbug nymph
Arachnid Appreciation:
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Flower crab spider on purple coneflower
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