Q and A

Today was a day for finding answers to questions. We'll begin with the question of what was in those eggs dangling from the leaf?

Backyard Bugs of the Day:

 I think these are brown lacewing larvae.

 Note the aphids on the leaf; they may become prey to the lacewing larvae.

Next question: Will the grasshopper that is missing both rear legs get new one when it molts? I thought no, but today I found the answer:

 First I spotted the discarded exoskeleton, and realized it had molted.

 And here it is, brand-new wings, no rear legs. But now at least it can fly, and it doesn't have such limits on where it can go.

 

 I had a little visitor on my computer screen last night was I was writing my blog (that is not my blog on the screen; I was reading an article on another site while pictures were loading). I had one of these on the front porch last year, but I don't remember what it was, and can't find it in the books, though I could have sworn that I found it in one of them last year. It's hard to know where to look it up, not knowing what it is. It's sort of mothish, and sort of not. It walks around with its wings sticking straight up. You can't tell from the picture, but it's sort of pinkish.

 I know this one, Ailanthus webworm moth. On autumn joy sedum. Note the wings have a lot of the scales worn away, and one wing is torn. It's amazing to me how well insects can still get around after such damage. This one has clearly been through a lot...

... and this one on goldenrod is a much newer specimen.

 Also on autumn joy sedum: a sweat bee

 Some kind of Hemiptera

 Fall webworm caterpillar

 Katydid

 Sawfly larva

 Jagged ambush bug with prey

 Another species of sawfly larva

 I don't know what these are called. They swarm all over a boulder in my backyard. I call them Gollum bugs.

 Fly

 Ladybeetle pupae. The one on the left is the one that formed the other day that was almost a neon orange when it was new. It has definitely darkened. I don't know if the color difference has to do with how long they have been pupae (the one on the right is at least a week older), different species of ladybeetles, or simply individual variation.

Leaf hopper. I think this one is a new species for me, and if I had been able to get a better picture, it would be BBotD today.

By the way, there will be a monarch eclosing tomorrow, for the first time this week.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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I think this is an orchard spider.

Flower crab spider

Jumping spider