Garden Creatures: Predators, Pollination, and More

I think of my backyard garden as its own little ecosystem, and I'm constantly amazed at the diversity of creatures that choose to make their homes there (usually because they want to eat the flowers or leaves, or because they want to eat the things that eat the flowers or leaves). Here's a small sampling of the creatures (mostly insects) I've noticed in the garden over the past two weeks. It's a jungle out there!

Flowers are a big deal in the garden, and there are always plenty of bees around. This bumblebee has its head buried in a bean flower and the pollen baskets on its legs are brimming full of collected pollen (I just learned about this part of bee anatomy, and I think it's super cool):
 

In addition to the flowering plants I actually put in the garden on purpose, a huge Pokeweed plant has sprung up in one shady corner, and I let it grow because I think it's quite attractive. Lots of flying insects apparently like it, too. This very small wasp is enjoying the Pokeweed's little white blossoms:
 

And this much larger wasp (probably a Four-toothed Mason Wasp, Monobia quadridens) is browsing over the Pokeweed blooms as well:
 

In the leaf-eating camp, several leafhopper-type bugs make their homes here (in small numbers, so I'm not worried about them damaging the plants). This fancy leafhopper (Graphocephala versuta, I think) is very pretty in subtle green/blue/yellow stripes, and as I watched it, it seemed to be exuding some sort of liquid and collecting the droplets with its legs. Weird!
 

I see these Citrus Flatid Planthoppers (Metcalfa pruinosa) pretty frequently, and I quite like their powdery gray outfits:
 

Baby leafhoppers look super strange. This leafhopper nymph was showing off its weird semi-translucent body on a bean leaf:

This stocky planthopper nymph (possibly genus Acanalonia) was eying me warily:
 

This next leaf-eater I am definitely not happy to see, as it takes huge chunks out of my bean leaves. Go away, Japanese Beetle, I don't want you here:
 

A few times now, I've noticed a strangely symmetrical bit of dried leaf, and then realize... oh, it's a moth! This is an Omnivorous Leafroller (Archips purpurana), I believe:
 

And speaking of leaf-like creatures, this Greater Angle-wing Katydid nymph (Microcentrum rhombifolium) does a fantastic job of blending in with these soybean leaves:
 

This creature isn't quite full-grown yet, but it's still pretty big -- about the size of my thumb. I've seen it several days in a row in the same spot, and I have to admire it every time. I love its mottled green skin, and those tiny baby wings are sooo cute:
 

When I saw this katydid most recently (I'm 99% sure it was the same individual, with that same missing leg and the same pattern of dots on its back), its little wings were bigger! Grow, baby katydid, grow:
 

Other cool creatures include this little cricket with antennae so big I couldn't fit them in the frame (they're about two or three times longer than this picture shows):
 

And this tiny adorable jumping spider who couldn't decide whether to focus more on the giant camera lens looming over its head...
 

Or the huge pink blob (i.e., my finger) that had invaded its home leaf:
 

The little spider was probably keeping an eye out for a meal, and there are tons of other predators all over the garden. Long-legged flies are particularly prevalent, little sparkling jewels in green, blue, and orange that cruise around looking for even tinier bugs to eat:
 

Mmm, this one got something!
 

But the long-legged flies can become meals, too.... This one wasn't very lucky, but I bet the spider's happy with its catch!
 

Robber flies are common predators around here, too. This one was hanging from the Pokeweed stem and munching on a nice fat beetle:
 

Finally, speaking of predators, I was very happy to find an American Toad living in the garden. I took this picture with my phone (I clearly need to always have my camera with me) in early July, but I saw the toad again last week, so I'm hoping it's sticking around:
 

This individual has just the most wonderful deep brown/maroon color, the likes of which I don't remember ever seeing on a toad before. I think it's a gorgeous creature, and I love that it's been out there on bug/slug patrol. Eat away, lovely toad!
 

Whew, so many things to see, and I don't even have to leave my yard! Summer is such a lively time, and I'm looking forward to meeting more cool creatures in my garden as the season continues.

Creatures of the Night: Moths, Leafhoppers, and More

There seems to be an endless parade of creatures who come to my porch light at night, and whenever I step outside and look around, there's pretty much always something new and interesting to see. Here's a selection of some of the awesome creatures (mostly insects) I've met on my porch over the past several days.

I think of leafhoppers and their relatives as primarily daytime creatures, so I'm still always a little surprised when I see these guys under the lights. This Speckled Sharpshooter (Paraulacizes irrorata) is pretty weirdly shaped compared to other leafhoppers I see more commonly around here, but it's also very cool looking -- its bulky head reminds me of a snake:

Two very pretty species of planthoppers have made several appearances as well -- Acanalonia conica:

And its paler, almost ghostly cousin, the Northern Flatid Planthopper (Anormenis chloris):

Every once in a while, I get another glimpse of a Green Stink Bug nymph (Chinavia hilaris), which I first noticed on my porch a couple weeks ago. This one has its sucking mouth part stuck right in the stem of this bean plant -- mmm, plant juices!

Another stink bug, though, I definitely wasn't happy to see:

This guy is a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys), an invasive species introduced from Asia only in the last dozen or so years -- according to the internet, those white bands on its antennae are a good way to distinguish it from similar-looking native species. This is the first time I've seen one of these bugs in Connecticut, but they've been a horrible nuisance for my family in Maryland in the past couple of summers -- they get so numerous that my dad has taken to vacuuming them off the back porch, and they get pretty much everywhere (in windows, in the dog's long fur...). Not to mention the agricultural damage they cause. So yeah, it's not a great situation, and I'm not at all pleased to see them in my yard.

But there have been plenty of other, happier bugs around, too, including several very pretty moths. I'm always amazed at how even all-brown moths can have just the coolest, most intricate patterns. This Adjutant Wainscot (Leucania adjuta) has some pretty awesome stripes when you get up close to it:

Even bolder was this carpet moth (I'm not sure the exact species):

 

(Update: A kind person on Bugguide.net helped identify the above moth as a Toothed Brown Carpet (Xanthorhoe lacustrata).)

 
And two American Idias (Idia americalis), a darker and a lighter individual, showed off some interesting variations on a striking design:

Finally, I'm not the only one benefiting from the bug-attracting qualities of the light. A few medium-sized spiders have set up webs in the corners around the door, and they seem to pretty much always have something on hand to eat:

I love expanding my knowledge of the huge variety of creatures who pass through our yard, and a porch light is a great way to get some of those creatures to come to me!

Creatures of the Night: A Peeper on my Porch, and Assorted Bugs

I have recently discovered that my front porch, at night, is awesome. More specifically, the bright light on my porch draws in all sorts of amazing nocturnal creatures that I wouldn't normally get to see, and that makes it awesome.

Last night, I decided to take the camera out to the porch to see who was visiting -- it turned out to be a party out there, with so many cool attendees! Perhaps not surprisingly, moths were making the strongest presence, in all sorts of different shapes. Here's a pretty standard moth to start things off, probably a cutworm moth of the genus Euxoa (I had some help from people on BugGuide.net in identifying these first three creatures):

The Euxoa moth was not big, probably about an inch or so long, but the rest of the moths I saw were tiny by comparison. This next creature is some sort of Crambid Snout Moth (family Crambidae), and those big pointy structures at the front of its head are not legs, as I originally thought, but mouth-parts called labial palps:

Towards the non-moth-like end of the spectrum is this tiny Casebearer Moth (genus Coleophora), with its feathery wings and long antennae pointing straight ahead:

And this fancy creature is an Ailanthus Webworm Moth (Atteva aurea):

The Ailanthus Webworm Moth is a native species, but strangely enough, its main larval food plant is the so-called Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), an invasive species introduced from Asia that now gives the moth its common name. I looked up pictures of this plant, and sure enough, there's one growing across the street from my apartment. How interesting that a native species would benefit so well from the introduction of a non-native plant -- if these moths were a little more voracious, would they be able to keep the invasive Ailanthus altissima under control?

In addition to the moths, several other flying insects were joining in on the party as well. This little treehopper was observing from a nearby vine, making excellent use of its camouflage:

(Update 8/11/11: Now that I actually took the time to look this bug up, it turns out it's a planthopper, not a treehopper. And I can actually give it a species ID: Acanalonia conica (note the cone-shaped nose).)

A Green Lacewing (family Chrysopidae) was lounging on the wall -- lacewing larvae eat other insects like aphids, so they're good creatures to have around:

An Ichneumon Wasp (family Ichneumonidae) was hanging around as well:

And several of these small, shiny, deep-maroon-colored beetles were climbing just about everywhere. I'm pretty sure this is an Asiatic Garden Beetle (Maladera castanea), a species introduced from Asia (as the name implies):

After looking at all these assorted bugs -- so much diversity in such a small space! -- I then noticed the best guest of all. I happened to look over at the porch railing, and who should be sitting there, happy as can be, but a Spring Peeper:

I've never seen Spring Peepers outside of their mating season before, when they converge on ponds and low-lying brush and loudly (deafeningly) announce their presence, so it was a real treat to see one just climbing around and doing its froggie thing. And what an honor that it chose my porch on which to do it! This frog was teeny tiny -- it couldn't have been more than an inch long, which is small even by peeper standards. The Spring Peeper is one of only two species of tree frog that we have in Connecticut, and I love love love these guys!

As soon as I took that first picture, my camera died. But even after half an hour of charging the battery, when I came outside again, the frog was still there. I suppose this must be an excellent place for the little guy -- a veritable froggie-buffet, with so many bugs drawn to the light. And yes, I admit it, I'm a horrible person and I used a flash to get this next picture.... I hope the little fellow can forgive me!

Feel free to stick around as long as you like, little peeper!

I had so much fun doing this, I will probably make it a habit of checking the porch from now on. I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of looking for animals under a light at night, but it sure was an exciting discovery for me. :)


(P.S. Paul says the peeper's name is Kristoff... which is oddly appropriate considering the frog gets its Latin name (Pseudacris crucifer) from the cross-like markings on its back. Thanks for visiting, Kristoff, and I'm sorry if you're actually a girl!)