Slow

The weather yesterday (or was it the day before? I can't remember) made insect photography very difficult. The weather today made certain aspects of insect photography very easy. How, you ask?

It was much cooler today, and cooler weather can make insects somewhat lethargic. For instance, these bumblebees:

 Of the six on this plant, only one was really moving, and it was crawling, not flying from flower to flower. A couple of the others moved slowly, but some of them didn't move at all.

 Lethargic bees are easier to photograph (although the wind wasn't helping me, even though it was much calmer today).

 There was rain in the morning, too. So the bees were a bit waterlogged.

 This flower fly was still moving from flower to flower, but was much mellower when it was feeding, and not flying to the next as quickly.

I took this picture (with the flower fly on the lower right) a couple of hours later than the bee picture at the start of the post. Same plant. Possibly some of the same bees, still not moving much.

 It is always difficult to get a picture of a thread-waisted wasp on a warm day. But on a cool day they are very still.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

 Katydid, female

 I didn't notice her for quite a while as I was taking pictures of other insects here. Note the bumblebee on the lower right.

Backyard Co-Bugs of the Day #2:

 Milkweed bugs nymphs. I still can't tell if these are small milkweed bugs or large milkweed bugs. They are similar in their adult forms, and they don't have their adult markings yet. They look like they are wearing tiny waistcoats.

Other Bugs:

 I saw something flutter to the ground from a tree, and I thought it was a tiny butterfly, but it was a leaf hopper. I have never seen their wings like this before.

 

 Hoverfly. This one was not at all lethargic.

 Green stinkbug

 Possibly a winter firefly. It's presence doesn't mean it's winter already; they are active more or less year round. They are also diurnal, and don't have light organs as adults.

 This is not an insect.

 Tree cricket

 Buffalo leaf hopper

 Cricket

 Crane fly

 Moth

 Arachnid Appreciation:
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Spider from the package bin

I have always wondered about this particular behavior of crab spiders.

Marbled orb weaver with prey in its bower

Tiny spider for such prey