The Bugs in the Backyard: Dewy

We're in the midst of another heat wave, so for the last few days my walks have all been night hikes or early morning walks. Today was an early morning walk, during which my shoes got soaked through with dew. I got up really early to make sure I could walk today, because I had a lot to do, and giving up some sleep seemed like the best way to make sure I had time for a nice, long walk. I regretted it instantly when my alarm went off, but that was the last moment of regret I had about it.

I'm not a morning person at all, but I really do enjoy morning hikes, in spite of the wet shoes.

I contemplated not bringing my camera, because for some reason I didn't think it would end up being worth the effort, but there were plenty of bugs out in the dewy morning:

Pearl crescent butterfly

Some of them, like this wedge beetle, didn't seem ready to face the day yet.

I don't think this bee is a morning person, either.

I was thrilled to find Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #1:

Monarch caterpillar! Very early instar, probably only a couple of days since it hatched. I found it by noticing the tell-tale leaf damage on the plant, and looking underneath the leaf. That is the easiest way to find early instar monarch caterpillars. I saw my first monarch of the season yesterday; it fluttered by as I was getting in the car, but there's obviously been more around, if this caterpillar's egg was laid over a week ago.

I found another one, too, but this one looks like it has been parasitized or infected with something, so I don't think it has a chance to become a butterfly. This makes me sad, but I know that nature is harsh, and I shouldn't take sides among the wild things.

Much more numerous on the milkweed this year have been Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillars:

Obviously, unlike the monarchs that lay single eggs on leaves, the milkweed tussock moth lays many. But I have also seen lots of broods of them, in different places in my yard (and woods. These are in a clearing in the woods).

Aside from looking at leaf damage, there are other ways to find caterpillars... like a huge pile of frass...

This anchor bug was certainly enjoying the bounty.

Photo-bombing flower beetle!

Backyard Co-Bug of the Day #2:

Possibly Greater Oak Dagger Moth caterpillar. This is a new species for me. I found in on an oak tree, a tree we have named Big Tree, because it is a big tree. We think it dates from around the Civil War, and it's more than 13 feet in circumference. I don't know what kind of oak it is, but it's an oak, so I thought rather than go through my caterpillar guide looking at a million pictures, I would just look in the index for caterpillars with oak in their name. Now, there are hundreds of caterpillars that have oaks as a host plant, and most of them don't have oak in the name, but I thought that might be a good place to start anyway. It wasn't. It was tedious. However, I still didn't want to go through the whole book, so I just pointed my phone at the picture on my screen and used a nature identification app to identify it. It immediately gave me a name (Greater Oak Dagger Moth), which is rare, usually it takes a while, so I looked it up, and... it looks nothing at all like the picture in the book. Different color, different markings, not as hairy... but I read the description in the book, and it says there are two forms of the larvae (with one of them possibly being "an unrecognized species"), and the description of the Connecticut one fits the caterpillar you see here. So... there you go. Possibly, maybe probably, a Greater Oak Dagger Moth caterpillar.

One of the differences between the picture in the book and the one I saw is the color of the face, but the Connecticut form is described as having a face that is black above and white below. So... it would be nice if the book had pictures of both forms!

If you look closely you can see water droplets under the wings of the buffalo tree hopper. We were all covered in dew this morning.

I sometimes look for bugs that I have found a few days later, if they are something that might stick around, which is often the case with caterpillars. I saw this one last week, and again a couple of days ago, but today... I am not sure if it moulted, and this is the exuvia it left behind, or if something preyed on it. It looks more like the latter. And I don't know what that fuzzy, pink blob is.

There were lots of bees on these flowers in an open meadow in the woods. I can't remember the real name of the plant; I call it my nemesis. But the bees like it.

Another pearl crescent–I saw this one near the end of my walk, and the other at the beginning, but since I ended where I started I can't help but wonder if I just saw the same butterfly twice.