It's All In the Spelling

I had to write an artist's bio for myself once for an exhibit featuring my bug photos, and was supposed to give my artistic statement. I honestly don't have a good answer for why I do what I do, other than that I like it, at least I didn't really when I started, but since then I have developed some reasons and rationales, and I think my mission statement now would be that I do this because when people look at bugs, I want them to say, "Ooo!" instead of "Ew!" Well, I posted my Backyard Bug of the Day on Facebook today, and my sister's comment was "Oooooo!" (exact number of Os), and no one said, "Ew!" so... mission accomplished. Even though it is a caterpillar, and my mother might say, "Ew!" because she doesn't like caterpillars. Still, I am calling this a success. I cannot claim to have converted more than a couple of people, if that many, to insect appreciation, but I am doing my best. Maybe you can save the world by starting small... really, really small.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 A pink caterpillar. This might be a southern oak dagger moth caterpillar.

Today was pretty caterpillary in the backyard (sorry, Mom):

 Here's the little viceroy on the back porch. At first glance, at a distance, it looks like bird droppings, but up close it has interesting patterns.

 It just shed its skin.

 A later-instars viceroy. You can probably see why it is so easily mistaken for bird droppings.

 

 

 

 Eastern tiger swallowtail–another one that looks like bird droppings, at least in the early instars.

 Cabbage white: my husband's nemesis. They did a number on our Brussels sprouts and broccoli in the garden while we were away. This one was crawling out of the garden when I spotted it.

 And there was this one only a few inches away on the same plant. I don't know what it is; there are several that look more or less like this in the book. My closest guess is yellow bear.

The Order Orthoptera was pretty well represented today, mostly on the side of my house:

 There was a cricket...

A couple of species of katydids...

 Missing a leg.

 An illustration of relative size

 And a grasshopper.

 

 Also a katydid on my lawn chair.

Before I get on with the other bugs I saw today, I should mention that there is something wrong with my camera, and I can't afford to get it fixed, or get a new camera. It has become really hard to get decent pictures; a lot of the bugs I am taking pictures of lately are not making it onto the blog because the pictures are bad. So... I don't know what this is going to mean in the near or extended future...

Other Bugs:

 Skipper

 Cranefly

 Hopper

 Net-winged beetle. This beetle hung around on the same leaf all afternoon and into the evening. For all I know it's still there...

 Candy-striped leaf hopper

 Spittle bug, and in the background...

 Case bearing beetle larva

 

 Jagged ambush bug

 This one has caught something...

 ... and that something has incredible eyes.

 Leaf-footed bug?

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Daddy-long-legs

 Six-spotted orb weaver

This big spider had built a web whose threads reached across a path. It was amazingly strong, which I know because I walked into it and it didn't break.