Monday, August 31, 2020

Spiders and Daddy Longlegs


Green orb weaver - a large, soft bodied spider: hiding in fern and wrapping prey:

Two elongated spiders: one on outdoor umbrella, one on boat in water:

A smaller spider with prey, in our lettuce garden:



Two days, two Daddy Longlegs; the one on the left is eating prey:

Spider with egg case, on our house:


A jumping spider that 'posed' for me:



 

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Assorted Assassin Bug Nymphs: late July - early August

 




There are many species of Assassin Bugs world wide. At this time of year, they have not metamorphosed into adults. They stab their prey and inject venom. This allows them to eat prey much larger than themselves.

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Nicknamed "Junk Bug" - an interesting sight!

 

These unusual looking insects are the larval stage of the Green Lacewing insect. In the larval stage, they bumble along plant surfaces looking for aphids to eat. The fuzz covering them is made from the empty bodies of the aphids and provides camouflage for the larva. In the larger photo below, you can see the head and 2 front legs at the bottom of the puff. There are some stripes on the head. The puff of dead bugs is only about 1/4" long (about 6-7 mm).


A different day, a different Junk Bug! August 13, 2020



Joy

Like the First Day colorful birds burst from hidden places among the branches soar across the water hover to savor  and absorb all that they...