Learning and Knowing

I am about a million miles from being an expert on insects, but sometime when I am observing a bug in my backyard, I get a sense of satisfaction at knowing something that I didn't know before. For instance, today's Backyard Bug of the Day is a beetle, and when I was looking at it through my camera, I could tell it was a beetle. That may not sound very impressive, but before I got involved in this bug thing, I would have thought it was a beetle even if it wasn't, just because I didn't know enough about insects to know what it was that makes it a beetle. I know, that makes no sense, and it would make more sense if it was a bug. And maybe that makes no sense, either. But you see, before I started learning about the insects in my backyard, I called all insects bugs. At one point in life I would have called spiders bugs, too. But then I started looking at insects up close, and identifying them (sometimes) and reading about them, and found out about True Bugs, which are insects of the order Hemiptera. And I found out that technically, those are the insects that are "bugs". And I learned what makes a bug a bug, and what makes a beetle a beetle (to an extent), and knowing those things, I can look at an insect that I once would have assumed was some kind of beetle and know that it is, in fact, a True Bug, something from the order Hemiptera. And a LOT of insects from Hemiptera I know I would have assumed were beetles five or six years ago. So when I am feeling happy about knowing that today's bug is a beetle, it's because I am happy that I now know enough to be sure that it's a beetle. And not a "bug". Because when I first saw it, I didn't know what it was, and that lack of surety is due to the fact that I now know there is a difference, and that I could not see its face, and that I know that a lot of things that look like beetles might not be.

But this one is definitely a beetle. And also a new species for me and my backyard, I think. Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Swamp Milkweed Beetle. This is on milkweed, but I don't think the species of milkweed in my backyard is swamp milkweed.

 That face is how you know it's a beetle, and not a bug, or Hemiptera.

A closer look. Hemiptera have a long tube that they use for stabbing (plants or other bugs, depending on what they eat) and sucking. Beetles have mouths like you see here, for cutting and chewing whatever it is they eat (again, could be plants, other bugs, wood, other animal flesh...).

Ah, learning. So satisfying! Keep doing it!

For some reason there were not a lot of bugs around today, but here's what I've got:

 Sawfly larva

 Different sawfly larva, I think. Some kind of larva, anyway.

 There are quite a few of these flies in one particular part of the woods whenever I walk by there.

 The scourge of gypsy moth caterpillars is not as bad this year as it has been the last couple of years, but it's still a lot.

 Mealy bug destroyer larva

Arachnid Appreciation:
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