The Bugs in the Backyard: Far-Sighted Vision

I was feeling pretty good about my powers of observation today during my bug walk, because both of today's Backyard Co-Bugs of the Day blended in really well with their surroundings, and I found them, so I must be pretty amazing at noticing things, right? Well, maybe not.

I spotted a tiny insect wing stuck to a tree branch, which is not an uncommon occurrence this time of year, because there are insects (I think both ants and termites) that develop wings just to be able to swarm, and then discard them. I thought that's what I had found:

I took about a dozen pictures of it, trying to get a good one in focus, and it was tricky because it was breezy; I spent some time just standing there waiting for the wind to stop.

At no time in all of this did I notice that this wing is still attached to an insect! I didn't know that until I looked at the pictures on my computer. Sigh. Even my private, internal hubris must be chastened.

To clarify, it wasn't so hard to spot Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1, because its color made it stand out from the plant on which I found it. The tricky thing was recognizing that it was a moth, not just a curled-up piece of a leaf. Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

Here's a better look. I tried to look it up in my bug books, and didn't find it.

It's quite pretty when you get a good look at it.

Moth face

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #2:

This doesn't look so hard to spot, probably, because I didn't take a picture from the vantage point at which I first saw it. In the real world it blended a little better than it appears to in the picture.

This is a prominent caterpillar, I think the species is wavy-lined heterocampa. I am not sure, though, because the book doesn't have a picture of the side view. Also the one in the book is slightly differently colored, but it does say that there can be variations in the colors and patterns.

Caterpillar close-up

The book also says that some prominents (it doesn't say which ones) can shoot acid from a gland in their neck if they are annoyed, which is a bit alarming because I think this caterpillar was pretty annoyed with me. It didn't spray me with acid, though, so it must not be one of the species that can. It was still surprising to read, though, not the less because I didn't know caterpillars had necks.

Other Bugs:

Ladybeetle standing on its pupal case after eclosure.

The grasshopper missing its rear legs is still hanging around. This could be kind of normal, I don't know how much grasshoppers move around it they are finding food to eat. I do wonder, though, if even with wings its movement is restricted; perhaps they launch into flight using their rear legs? I don't know. It was definitely trying to avoid me and my camera, but it didn't fly away.