A Welcome Home

Hello again. I'm back, and this is the sight that greeted my gaze when I opened my drapes this morning:

 Chrysanthemums in bloom! If you have a good eye you can see that there is one insect enjoying these flowers–at least, at that moment.

I planted these flowers last year for the sole reason that I wanted there to be flowers blooming this late in the season to feed the pollinators. Yes, the flowers are pretty, but I really didn't plant them for my own enjoyment–although I very much enjoy seeing them. I planted them for the insects. And the insects are taking advantage of the food source as intended:

 Fly

Funny thing happened when I moved in for a closer shot of this fly:

 Photobombed!

 I have no idea where that stilt bug appeared from. Looking back at the previous shots, it was not on that flower. It quite surprised me when it showed up in view.

 Tiny gnat

Several kinds of hover flies and flower flies fed there today:

 And one leaf hopper

Other Bugs:

 I saw only one grasshopper, and it was lethargic enough that I almost stepped on it. It was not sunny today, and they are definitely peppier when it's sunny, but it was about 65ºF when I was out for my bug walk.

 Leaf hopper. It had just landed, and its wings and elytra were spread out on landing–I thought it was a moth at first–and slowly closed in.

 March fly. I walked into a swarm of these today. This one was not part of the swarm, just resting on a bush.

 Crickets

And last but not least, Backyard Bug of the Day:

These tiny leaf hoppers were flying all over the place today. I saw quite a lot of them before I even went outside; they were landing on the skylight above my head while I was doing my physical therapy exercises, and then landing on the windows whenever I looked out. They landed near me a number of times when I was out doing my bug walk, but this is the only one I managed to photograph. They are tiny–probably less than a sixteenth of an inch–and don't sit still for photographs very often. Around this time of year I always see them, and rarely get pictures.

I didn't get to do a full bug walk today because it was drizzling when I went out and eventually developed into a steadier rain. I put up with the drizzle, shielding my camera under my shirt while I walked, but the full rain was too much. It's a bit iffy that I will be able to do another bug walk for a couple of days–if the forecast holds (which, let's be honest, it rarely does), it will be raining most of the time.