Strange Ways

While I was outside doing my bug walk today it felt like I was finding a lot of bugs, but going through the pictures it seems I just took a lot of pictures of a few bugs. I found enough good ones, though, that I have 3 Backyard Co-Bugs of the Day.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

Case bearing leaf beetle larva. Now, you're probably thinking that doesn't look like a larva (and I am not talking about the fuzzy nymph in the lower right corner of the picture). The larva is inside the "case," which is made of its own feces. It's a strange way to live. I have only rarely caught a glimpse of a larva inside one of these. Occasionally their heads poke out the bottom. This one moved a little, but I never saw the larva.

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #2:

Dragonfly

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #3:

Buffalo tree hopper nymph

Other Bugs:

Caterpillar pretending to be a twig. It's a pretty convincing performance, except that twigs don't grow out of the edge of leaves.

Plume moth on milkweed

Beetles on black-eyed Susan. I think that the holes in the petals were made by beetles eating them.

Caterpillar on daisy fleabane stem. It has eaten most of the flowers off the plant.