Category: Bugs

Interesting bugs/insects/spiders that I happen across

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Tobacco hornworm

Found a bunch of these big fat green caterpillars monching away on the jalapeno plants. Google image search identified them as tobacco hornworms (manduca sexta).

Big fat green caterpillar perched on a plant munching away. Appears to be a tobacco hornworm.

Plucked 6 hornworms off the jalapeno plants (they have a pretty good grip for something so squishy) and flung them out into the road where at least 3 of them ended up getting squashed by passing traffic.

The caterpillars really did a number on the jalapeno plants. The jalapenos were looking big and bushy a couple days ago. The leaves from a big section of the top of the plants have been stripped off now and I had to prune off a bunch of half-eaten jalapenos.

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Hitching a ride

Wife spotted this spider sitting on the car’s side view mirror. I wonder if he wanted to go for some take-out.

Spider on the car side view mirror
Spider on the car side view mirror

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Lovebugs everywhere

The lovebugs seem to be especially abundant this summer. I suspect it has something to do with all the rain we’ve been getting this year.

Lovebugs
Lovebugs

I was putting up the antenna this morning for the Tennessee QSO party and there were hundreds of them swarming around the side of the house.

Lovebug swarm
Lovebug swarm
Lovebug swarm
Lovebug swarm
Lovebug swarm
Lovebug swarm

All those small black specks on the house are bugs. They seemed to find the antenna mast a good spot to rest.

Lovebug swarm
Lovebug swarm
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Door moth

Spotted this neat looking Luna moth on the door last night. Haven’t seen too many of them around here before.

Luna moth
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Work spiders

A couple of days ago, while I was walking in to work from the parkade I spotted a spinybacked orbweaver (gasteracantha cancriformis)and it’s web strung between some shrubs and a tree. Almost ran into the darned thing. They’re one of the neater looking spiders I’ve come across. Tried to get some pictures of it with my cell phone, but the camera’s autofocus kept focusing on the background. The next day I brought in my little Sony point and shoot, but still had the same problem. Autofocus kept focusing on the background .

So today I brought in the DSLR. Fortunately the spider and it’s web was still around so I was able to (finally) get some pictures.

Spiny backed orbweaver spider on its web
Spiny backed orbweaver spider on its web

As I was leaving, I also saw this fine specimen of a Golden silk orbweaver/banana spider a little higher up in a tree on the other side of the sidewalk. Like the spiny orbweaver, the phone and little camera wouldn’t focus on the spider, so I got a few shots of it today.

Golden silk orbweaver s pider on its web
Golden silk orbweaver s pider on its web
Golden silk orbweaver s pider on its web

Unfortunately when I left work, the spiny orbweaver had gone, web and all. My guess is someone wasn’t paying attention and walked into the web, sending the spider into the bushes, or hitching a ride with whoever walked into it. The banana spider was still there though.