The Key to Happiness

 The forecast for today was for temperatures in the 60s and overcast, and I stood in the back door looking out at the rain falling in my 58ºF backyard, I thought, well, at least they were right that it would be overcast. Then ten minutes later the sun came out. The temperature did eventually reach 60ºF, but not by the time I went out to do my bug walk. As the rain had just ended and it was chilly, I had low expectations for the endeavor, but I always say that low expectations are the key to happiness, and in the end I was pretty happy with what I found today–mostly because it was more than nothing.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

Thread-waisted wasp. Every year around this time I find one that doesn't want to move because it's too cold. I have been trying to take a picture of one for weeks, but when the weather is warm they are too skittish and fast. Today it wasn't quite cold enough to keep it completely still, but it was at least manageable.

Other Bugs:

A fun thing about cooler weather is you find bumblebees in a doze on flowers.

 The chorus of crickets was subdued today, but I saw a couple of tree crickets (I think of different species):

And one bush cricket:

 

Today I have an opportunity to show you the difference between a small milkweed bug and a large milkweed bug (other than the size, which you can't really tell from the pictures):

Small milkweed bug. The black heart shape is how I always identify them.

Large milkweed bug. It has not fully developed its color, as it probably molted into adulthood today, but you can see that the markings are very different.

I've been seeing a lot of candy striped leaf hoppers on the leaves of raspberry plants, and I think that is because there are not a lot of other plants that still have green, living leaves right now, and the leaf hoppers feed on the fluids in plants.

 

A reminder of what's coming: a winter firefly crawling up the trunk of a tree. In a couple of months this is all I am going to be able to find on some days.

Backyard Amphibian of the Day:

Gray tree frog. I have been hearing these a lot lately, but I rarely see them. It doesn't blend in with the leaf litter quite as well as some other species, but well enough that we only saw it when it jumped to avoid being stepped on.

Showing some tree frog climbing skills.

Arachnid Appreciation:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Goldenrod crab spider