Avoiding a Subject

The only noteworthy thing about my backyard today was something I didn't want to see, so let's just not talk about my bug walk. Let's just look at the pictures of the good things in my backyard.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Bee on leafy spurge

 Click beetles seem to like to perch on top of things.

For the last few days the tent caterpillars have all been closed up in their tent, and today the tent was ripped open...

 ... and I could see that suddenly they are all about twice the size they were a couple of days ago. I don't know how, because they don't seem to have been eating at all, but there you go. It looks like they are not all the same size, though.

 

 I found another tent on the other side of the yard with caterpillars that are even bigger. I have no idea how I have managed to not notice this one over the last week or so that it must have been there.

And speaking of caterpillars...

 The enemy is out there. I haven't found more gypsy moth egg cases that were hatching, but I have been finding the caterpillars. I am hoping that all of the rain we have been having for the entire spring means that the fungus that kills them is already active and they will not be able to maraud like the have the last couple of years. This is the thing I said I didn't want to talk about, but I guess it has to be mentioned, at the very least so you know what the enemy looks like at this stage.

 Winter fireflies

 Sweat bee on moss. I wish more bugs would pose for pictures on moss.

 Bee on bleeding heart

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 I think the other item in the web with this spider is its own molted skin, not a prey insect.