The Bugs in the Backyard: Missing Things

I am getting out of touch with my backyard. I don't spend enough time out there. I am missing transitions from spring into summer, and who knows what has been happening out there that I have not witnessed? I am ashamed of myself, for allowing other things to take me away from something that means so much to me. I looked at my blueberry bush today and saw that there are blueberries on it, not ripe yet, but fully-formed fruits, when I never even took the time to appreciate the flowers this spring. I am spending too much time worrying about getting rid of invasive plants on my property, and not enough time appreciating the loveliness around me. Not that I don't appreciate it at all, I do, but I used to pride myself on noticing the small beauties. I have never really understood exactly what the phrase "can't see the forest for the trees" means, but I suspect I might be doing whatever it is it is talking about.

I do, however, still look for bugs every time I go outside. Occasionally in the last week or so since my last post I have even taken a few pictures, and chosen a Backyard Bug of the Day.

Here's today's Backyard Bug of the Day:

I found a couple of these pretty moths on the invasive dame rocket flowers that I should be removing, but I can't bring myself to because they attract insects.

Other Bugs from Today:

I can't identify species of dragonflies by name, but I can identify this one as the least cooperative species of dragonfly:

This is about the closest I have ever gotten to one of these. Other species of dragonflies will let me get close enough to see that they have compound eyes, but not these. I saw it sitting here through the kitchen window, and went to get my camera. I knew it would still be there when I got outside. And I knew this was as close as I would get with my camera. Right and right.

Backyard Bunny of the Day:

I got about as close to this bunny as I did the dragonfly. If you look really closely (and why would you want to for this?) you can see that it has ticks attached to its neck. Often when I take pictures of rabbits they have ticks on their necks.

Tiny gnat in a dandelion

Backyard Bug of the Day from May 24, 2022:

Some kind of beetle I found on an after-dark walk. Lit by flashlight, photographed with my phone, which is why it's not a close-up. I fully expected this beetle to play dead and roll off the leaf when I tried to take a picture, but it stayed still for me. I think this is the same kind of beetle I found on my porch about a week or so earlier that dropped off the wall to play dead on the floor when I tried to get a picture.

Other Bugs from May 24:

Lace bug. I have some wild cherry trees in my yard, and if you want to find lace bugs you should check the wild cherry trees, because that is usually where I find them.

Side view of how that looks underneath.

Assassin bug. An adult, which is rare for me to see. I see the nymphs a lot, but I hardly ever see an adult. I suppose that's because a lot of nymphs are born, but not a lot make it to adulthood, which is the case for most insects (or other animals that produce a lot of young. Or even the ones who DON'T produce a lot of young).