Pool

The spot that in the spring, when the snow melts and we get a lot of rain, I call my vernal pool today became my autumnal pool:

 We had over five inches of rain last night. The day dawned sunny and wild; the wind was so loud I couldn't tell if the crickets were still singing (they were). I don't own a pair of rain boots, and walking through this in my gardening clogs would have been horrible (the water is several inches deep in the middle there), so this required me to take detours on my bug walk. I didn't get to finish, either, because it started to rain again–not enough to add much to our inches, but enough to make me bring my camera inside. I didn't find many bugs today.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

 This appears to be a walnut caterpillar, which is in the same family as the datanas–its scientific name is Datana integerrima. I am not sure that this is the right identification, because the book describes the walnut caterpillar (which, like most caterpillars, turns into a rather bland, brown moth) as being stout, which this is not. The picture in the book also shows a much hairier caterpillar. But this does have the white subspiracular stripe noted in the book, so maybe. Anyway, there was nothing else in the book that was even close.

Other Bugs:

 To be honest, I am not sure this wasp was even alive.

 The infested woolly bear remains, and today I could see a few of the pupae on it.

 For pollinators today, I saw this sweat bee, a bumblebee, and a thread-waisted wasp. Just those three.

Arachnid Appreciation:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

I think this is a six-spotted orb weaver.