Sharpshooter (Oncometopia nigricans)

Allow me to introduce you to a very small, very shy Bug that I found hanging out on my Button Bush.

 

This is an Oncometopia nigricans, aka a Sharpshooter.

 

 

It was camera shy, and darted sideways around the stem whenever it saw my lens.

 

 

To get its picture, I wiggled my fingers an the far side of the plant, chasing it around to my focused camera. :~)

 

 

The Sharpshooter is a ‘True Bug’, one of the Leaf Hoppers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are two ‘faces’ on the top view of the Sharpshooter that I find more entertaining than scary (although hungry birds might disagree.)  The most obvious is at the top of the wings, but when I look at the back of the head, I see a Groucho Marx look.

Ahhh, the creativity that the LORD put into His creation!

The Very Hungry (Yellow Bear) Caterpillar

One Sunny Day,

In a stand of Coriopsis Blossoms,

 Fuzzy Yellow Caterpillar munched

 and munched

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and munched.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stretched out to his Full Length,

Hanging on with All His Feet,

He munched

and munched

aaaaaaannnnnnnddddddd munched

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

and munched still more

Because munching

is what 

Fuzzy Yellow Caterpillars

do!

Morning Dew

The Sweat Bee On Me

Lately, I’ve noticed that sweat bees are much friendlier than when I was a kid.  (This should in NO WAY be construed as a complaint!) They can hang out on my arm. I can take their pictures. AND I don’t get bit! Or stung! Or whatever it is that sweat bees do to make humans fear them. Here’s what happened today:

Wow! I didn’t realize my arm hairs were so long and flowing! ;~)

I don’t know how he managed with that hair holding him down, but he abandoned my arm.

 

He came back and checked out my finger, then flew off for other adventures. Hopefully he was as kind to his next host as he was to me.

:~)

Hopping To It

While leaning over the fence to prune away some branches, I spied a green lump on my next victim.

 

It was a  Gray Treefrog
(Hyla versicolor), blending in as best it could.

 

I pulled the Panasonic from my pocket and commenced shooting.

 

 

 

 

He didn’t mind me recording his back view.

 

And the shot from the side didn’t seem to bother him, either.

Even a Down The Twig Pic was fine. 

 

 

 

But … moving in for a serious close-up was apparently too much.

He

 

hopped

 

away.

 

I glanced around, hoping to find the spot where he’d taken refuge and discovered that the spot was

ON ME!

(Wow. Didn’t see That One coming!)

So he gave me the Evil Eye and turned to slink off.

Maybe it was because The Ant nipping at his heels got him confused, I don’t know.

At any rate, he hopped again …

 

… on to the Chain-Link Fence.

NOT the best hiding place*, even for a small frog!

 

 

 

 

*Here’s why I believed that Gray Treefrogs share a trait with the famed Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal.  Both believe that “If I don’t see her, she doesn’t see me.”   ;~D

 

 

 

 

He tried to hail a cab, apparently not knowing that there are no cabs in this neighborhood. (Ok. That was just plain silly.)

 

 

 

In preparing for his final hop,  his right-side feet got kind of tangled up on the fence wire.

 

Wouldn’t you know, the same thing happened on his left!

 

 

With a mighty heave, he got his feet straightened, hopped off the fence, and disappeared into the ‘safe side’ of the yard.

And we all lived happily ever after.

The End

Hummingbird Feeders — Not Just For Hummingbirds!

An American Toad (Bufo americanus) Tale

I was working beside the Wet Weather Creek when I spied a Toad backing into a hole in the bank.

Of Course I had my Trusty Panasonic in my pocket!

There was only time to snap one picture because …

Zacchaeus The Kitty moved in for a closer look.

I didn’t see The Toad again.

Zacchaeus The Kitty was a Different Story.

Parking lot Passer (domesticus)

Found this Little Cutie waiting beside my car.

It’s a House Sparrow.

Munch, Munch, Munch

This Caterpillar eats Iris …

This Little Fly eats leaves …

This Bigger Fly eats Pollen …

This Little Worm eats Green (Tomatoes).

And this Silly Beast  …

moves his Dish

which leaves a Trail Of Food

for him to Munch On Later.

(Munch, Munch, Munch)

Waiting For The Hummer (Or Someone Like Him)

Sitting on my porch … waiting for a Hummer to visit the feeder … borrowed camera in hand …

Beyond the feeder, the Mountain Bluet is still flowering.

 

 

 

At the feeder … nothing.

 

 

 

Beyond the feeder, the neighbor’s yard is aglow in the sunshine.

 

 

At the feeder … a bit of glowing as well. (But no hummer.)


 

 

 

Beyond the feeder, the Hanging Basket blooms with reckless abandon.

 

 

 

While at the feeder …

 

 

 

 

 

The Visitor hums in!

(Yay!)