I've Learned Some Things Over The Years

 Yesterday when I finished my bug walk I forgot that my camera battery was almost dead, so I went out today with very little power left. I guess it's fortunate that I didn't see anywhere near as many bugs today?

Backyard Bug of the Day:

Clavate tortoise beetle. I love these. They are so weird. I was looking through memory posts on social media last night, and one of my early posts of Backyard Bug of the Day on this date was one of these beetles, and it was the first time I had ever seen one. Someone asked me then if these could fly, and I said I didn't think so. I didn't know a lot about bugs back then. Now I know that this can fly. You can kind of see the dividing line down its back where this unusual elytra separates so the beetle can spread its wings.

Beetles have such cute feet.

An interesting thing about tortoise beetles is that their weird carapace is helpful in defending themselves. They can hold it flat against a leaf and pretty much lock down so that predators can't get at their softer parts because they can't get a grip on them to get them off the leaf.

 

This blog never gives an accurate representation of how many bumblebees I see. I see a lot. I get pictures of few.

Fireflies

The dreaded and reviled spongy moth caterpillar (formerly called gypsy moth caterpillar).

Two different longhorn flower beetles on maple leaf viburnum

Peek-a-boo!

Robber fly

I wanted to find the a caterpillar I saw yesterday, so I looked for a leaf that had been partly eaten.

Still guarded by its ant bodyguard. You can see the way the caterpillar eats, by first scraping off the top layer of the leaf. I won't mention what else it is doing.

Robber flies

Six-spotted tiger beetle:

  These footprints were found in the same spot as the ones I posted yesterday, but they are much bigger. I think these are probably a raccoon:

 

 

Frogs:

Wood frog

American toad

And while we're on the subject of amphibians...

The small pond is nearly dried up again, and I spotted a salamander egg mass in the mud. It looks like the eggs are empty.

Arachnid Appreciation:

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Standing on the surface of the stream is not where you expect to find spiders, but sometimes that is where I find spiders.