Sleepy Bees

Today was rather suddenly cooler in the backyard, and I wasn't able to do my bug walk until early evening, which I suppose is why I found so many bumblebees who were willing to pose for me:

It's not unusual late, late in the summer, or in the fall, to find bumblebees in kind of a stupor on plants in the evening when the temperature drops. What was unusual today was that while it was cooler, it was still in the 70s, usually I don't see this kind of thing until it's in the low 60s or even 50s. And there were a lot of bumblebees resting on flowers like this, and lately I haven't even seen that many bumblebees around. So I don't know what they were up to today, but evidently they all needed some rest.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Katydid. Katydids always look annoyed.

Other Bugs:

 Make that 19 species of caterpillars seen in the last 5 days. This one is a fall webworm, I think.

 Springtail

 Last week I showed you these tent caterpillars, and then a couple of days ago I showed you one that had become a chrysalis. I think this one is in the process of becoming a chrysalis. I'll be able to tell for sure tomorrow, I think.

 The milkweed tussock moth caterpillars were suddenly all over the place again.

 

 Hard to believe this is a caterpillar, but if you look closely you can see its head. The camouflage works pretty well, except that it is resting on a leaf, so it sort of stands out.

 I found another monarch, too.

 Green lacewing. The eyes don't usually look quite that red, but it was dark and I had the light on my camera, so it is reflecting that brightness.

 Ants on a purple cone flower

 I know these are garden pests, but I don't ever see them in my garden, I only see them on a plant I refer to as nemesis, which they are welcome to eat, and I think it looks kind of cool. I think it is a Colorado Potato Beetle.

Arachnid Appreciation:
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Six-spotted orb weaver, I think.