Bug Rules

I have rules for this blog, that I try very hard to follow, even though following rules is not a hallmark of my character. The rules relate to the pictures I post: they have to be from the day of the post, they have to be taken by me, and most importantly, since this is a blog about my backyard and the bugs (and other life) in it, the pictures have to be taken in my yard. They don't have to be from the backyard, just within the boundaries of my property. And there are guidelines I sort of follow regarding what insects get to be Backyard Bug of the Day. First, they just have to be an insect, they don't have to be a "bug," which I discovered some time after I started my Backyard Bug of the Day project, refers specifically to insects of the order Hemiptera. I like the alliteration of Backyard Bug of the Day; Backyard Insect of the Day is not as catchy. So, it has to be an insect. As it is, I am leaving out spiders, which is too bad, because some of the spiders around here are awesome, but given the arachnophobia of some of the people that follow the Backyard Bug of the Day, and the fact that I already knew that spiders are not insects, and therefore not bugs before I knew what a bug really was... well, let's just say that spiders don't qualify. Sorry, spiders. For a pretty long time I had a rule that an insect could only be BBotD once, but after about 2 years of the project I got to the point where I was not finding something new every day (which is a pretty impressively long time, even when you consider that back then I didn't do this in the winter), so I decided that there is a yearly cycle, and a species can be reconsidered every year. Anyway, the guidelines now pretty much give any new insect priority to be Backyard Bug of the Day, but I don't find new things very often anymore. I've never counted, or even come close to identifying them all, but I know there must be somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 insect species that I have photographed in my backyard. In the absence of something new every day, I have to just choose which insect I found on that day to feature. I like it to be something I have just found for the first time that season, but at this time of year that can be most of the bugs I see on any given day. And mostly it has to be something that I got a good picture of. Unless I have a bad picture of something I have never seen before, a good picture is almost the most important factor. Particularly if it is a good picture of a bug that I have a hard time photographing. Because some bugs are just really, really hard to photograph. I mean, most of them are something of a challenge, but some of them are just really difficult. Uncooperative. And in some cases those difficult species are also gorgeous. So to get a good picture of one is a major coup.

All of this brings me to my dilemma today. The six-spotted tiger beetle is a gorgeous insect with a quirky personality, and it's pretty hard to photograph. It has some fairly predictable behavior, which usually includes not letting me get close enough for a picture, but also that if you see one, and you get to close and it flies away, chances are it may come back after a few seconds, or a minute or so. And they have favorite hang-outs, certain rocks, especially, where I will see them repeatedly over the course of a few days. Generally the same rocks each year. But knowing they might be seen there, and knowing that they might come back after I have scared them away does not negate their other personality quirk, the one that is their reluctance to sit still for a picture. So, when I DO get close enough for a good shot, the six-spotted tiger beetle is almost guaranteed to be awarded the honor of Backyard Bug of the Day (an honor that means absolutely nothing to any insect, even though I try to coerce them to cooperate by telling them they could achieve that. Yes, I talk to bugs. Trust me, that is not the weirdest thing about me). Anyway, today I saw a six-spotted tiger beetle (two, actually, but more on that anon), and amazingly it let me get really close to it, and I got a really good picture of that gorgeous insect. I took it the picture, I took it today, but... technically, the bug was not in my backyard. Or on my property at all. It was in the street in front of my house. It was about a foot away from the curb. So... it doesn't qualify for Backyard Bug of the Day under my own rules. Now, anyone who really knows me probably doesn't understand why this is a problem, because as I mentioned, I am not a huge fan of following rules (I mean, I follow important ones), but these are MY rules. What is even the POINT of me having rules for myself if I don't follow them? I am the only person to whom these rules apply. If I don't follow them, well, then this blog is just chaos. Which is not to say I haven't broken them. Maybe three times in the last 5 years (I think I have been doing this for almost 5 years). And always with good reasons. So... I do have other bugs I could choose today, and it's not like I have never seen a six-spotted tiger beetle before, but... well... Backyard Bug of the Day:

 Six-spotted tiger beetle. Here's my justification for choosing it: the beetle was not on my property when I took the picture, but I was–I had one foot in the street, but the other was in my yard. And after I took this picture, the beetle flew away... into my yard. Then later I checked one of the rocks in my backyard that the tiger beetles favor, and I did see one... which flew away before I could get close enough for a picture, and then didn't come back. Also, this really is the best picture I took today.

If you were to go only by what you see on this blog you would think that I haven't seen any butterflies yet this spring, but that is not the case. I have seen at least one every day this week. Sometimes they fly right by my face. I just haven't been able to get pictures of them, because they have been acting like butterflies. I actually saw two species today. But this is the best picture I could get:

 I think this is a spring azure. The other one I saw was either a comma or a question mark, but I didn't get close enough to see.

This was another candidate for BBotD, or so I thought when I took the pictures, but they didn't come out well, so...

 Beetle

 I've started taking my camera with me when I go out to get the mail, in case I see an interesting bug, and today I saw this, which I think is a rove beetle.

 Assassin bug

Today on the leafy spurge, tiny beetles, a tinier wasp, and an ant

The dandelions are blooming, and attracting bees, which is the reason why you should let dandelions grow in your lawn. They provide food for pollinators, and later in the summer the pollinators will provide food for you.

Click beetle

Arachnid Appreciation:
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 Crab spider

 This bowl-and-doily spider has had a web in the same spot for the last couple of weeks.

 I have seen two caterpillars this week, both being eaten by predators. This one fell prey to a jumping spider.

At first glance this looked just like buds on a branch...

 Then I realized it was a bud, a spider, and a wasp.

 It looks like maybe the spider has a parasite?

I am still hoping one day for a tortoise, but for now... I saw my first snake of the year for Backyard Reptile of the Day:
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 It seemed very unconcerned about my presence. It poked around in the leaf litter. I would guess it smelled something and was hunting for it.