So Many Things To Love About Spring

The great thing about this time of year from the standpoint of someone who is looking for interesting bugs is that, like the flowers and other plants in the backyard, there are new things appearing all the time. In early spring (and winter, to the extent that there are bugs then), it's the same bugs every day, but now, while there are certainly bugs I am seeing every day, like bumblebees, there are also new things all the time.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

 Some kind of hopper nymph

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #2:

 Possibly a salt marsh moth

Other Bugs:

 Moth

This particular tree is a pretty reliable place to find lace bugs.

 

 Not a good shot, but check out the one on the left for a glimpse of how it looks underneath.

 

 Leaf-footed bug

Stilt-legged bug

As the trees have been getting their leaves I have noticed a lot of ants on the branches near where the leaves are, and thought maybe the trees were exuding something that the ants are eating. I haven't looked that closely, or taken a lot of pictures, because I don't want to take pictures of the same things every day. But today I took a few...

... and when I looked at this shot on the computer I realized what the ants are up to (on this oak at least): there are nymphs of aphids (I think, they could be some kind of hopper?) on the branches, and the ants are tending to them (like they do) and feeding on their honeydew.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 My husband and I were sitting at the picnic table and this jumping spider joined us. And jumped on us. Here it is posed on my husband's hand.

 Another jumping spider

 Six-spotted orb weaver with prey