Growing Up

I did my bug walk at dusk this evening, and as I was walking around, a bat zoomed past my head. I felt the breeze from its wings. It came from behind me, and you can believe that if it had zoomed that close from the front, where I could see it coming, I would have ducked. It was mildly unnverving, but what I really thought at that moment was that I hoped it had just eaten a mosquito that was about to bite me. It's hard not to be freaked out when they fly so close, but really, I would probably be just as freaked out if a bird buzzed me that close, or a bug even, depending on what kind it was. But bats are very beneficial, and their numbers are declining, so I was happy to see it. I used to see them all the time; if I was out around dusk I would see a few darting about, but now I hardly ever see them. They are welcome to all the mosquitoes they want out of my backyard.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This is some kind of leaf hopper nymph. I can't tell in the nymph stage what kind it is, but I found this one interesting because I have been seeing a lot of them in earlier instars (a stage of development between molts) and I don't think I have seen one at this stage before. You can tell that it is still immature because its wings are not fully developed yet.

 As a comparison, here is one in an earlier instar, found on the same plant. Based on the color it is possibly a different species, but obviously similar.

Guess what is going to happen tomorrow morning:

 This is the first of the monarch chrysalides, and as you can see, the wings of the butterfly are now quite visible through the outer shell of the chrysalis. That means it is very close to eclosing (emerging from the chrysalis). They usually emerge in the morning, so tomorrow morning will see the dawning of this butterfly.

 Tomorrow morning there will also be two more chrysalides.

Starting my bug walk as it was getting dark, obviously I didn't find a lot, but there were a few other bugs:

 Leaf hopper

 Moth

 Plant hopper

Cricket

Stink bug on catalpa seed pod

Arachnid appreciation:
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 The first time I ever saw this species of spider (and no, I don't know what species it is) whas in the spring of this year. At the time it was abou a quarter the size–and this is still a fairly small spider.

 Flower crab spider