Monday, September 9, 2024
Giant water bug
Notes to myself
Screenshot from James' video |
Monday, September 2, 2024
Some cool new faces in the gardens
Now meet a piglet bug. A what, you say? Me, too! I spotted this tiny critter on my rubber flip flop and nearly blew off getting any pictures. I mean, it was TINY. But I did. Good thing, too. Turns out I found a piglet bug, more precisely this one: Bruchomorpha nodosa. And that's all I know.
This morning, I was walking down our driveway when I spotted.....A TIGER BEETLE! My first ever! I knew what it was right away. They're fast fliers, but I got some great shots. This one is a limestone tiger beetle (Cicindela politula). According to Bugguide.net, they occur in "limestone or calcareous clay and, in particular, dirt roads, bare areas, and trails near this type of substrate."
ANSWER: Butterfly orbweaver (Araneus pegnia). As soon as I got a close up look at this spider, I said, "That looks like a butterfly!" Hence, its cool common name.