Hello!

Today's Bugs

Cicada killer in action!

And a big grasshopper missing one back leg. 

Black Swallowtail Chrysalis

Tiniest Snail

Unknown Cat.

Grey Hairstreak

Assassin Bug vs Fly

Tawny Emperor??

Tasting a composting cantaloupe rind. 

Black Swallowtail Cats!

10-14-14 found four black swallowtail caterpillars on my fennel this morning. How can I not have noticed them sooner?

Wheel Bug

So glad to find another beneficial bug in our yard! We've seen a lot of other assassin bugs, but this is the first wheel bug I've seen here. 

First Monarchs

First visiting Monarchs I've seen. There were two partaking of mistflower nectar. I'm so hopeful that in future years when the garden has expanded and matured we'll feed a lot of butterflies. 

Bee in Trouble

I found this bee struggling in the birdbath and fished it out with a stick. After a few minutes of airing and thoroughly wiping it's proboscis, it flew away. 

 

Oh, hello.

Lacewing Eggs 9-16-14

Found lacewing eggs on the potted Mandevilla vine this morning. 

Also an assassin bug. 

Katydid

I first saw these when they were very tiny and I thought they were a different kind of assassin bug. After they got bigger I realized they must be some kind of katydid. 
http://www.austinbug.com/tettigoniidae2.html

I thought I'd better kill them so they wouldn't continue chewing up my plants. (I'm happy for caterpillars to do so, but then they become beautiful pollinators.) James reminded me of my "natural garden" policy = no interference with the circle of life in our yard. We've only been here a few months, but so far it's been amazing. A pest arrives, shortly followed by predators of that pest. 

So the green bugs stayed. Yesterday a couple that I had been keeping an eye on had disappeared. Birds got them, maybe? This morning I went to check on one that lives on our deck in a pot of herbs. Couldn't find him. But I found this instead:

Praying mantis to the rescue!

Hairstreak

Female Black Swallowtail

http://www.texas-butterflies.com/black-swallowtail-butterfly.htm

Sipping Lantana nectar and laying eggs on parsley!

Caterpillars spotted Sept. 6

9-10-14 Sad update: baby caterpillars all gone this week. Became bird treats??
Next year more parsley! Maybe more caterpillars and some will make it.

The Queen

Queen on the blue mistflower 8-19-14

This one is a male -- note the two dark spots on lower wings, which females do not have. 

"Male Queens crave this plant’s purple bloom, which provides them special nutrients that make them attractive to the lady butterflies." 

http://texasbutterflyranch.com/2014/08/09/pollinator-power-on-the-river-walk-garden-plot-transforms-to-creature-haven/

Leaf-footed Bug : (

Must be Acanthocephala terminalis(?) on the Russian Sage. I guess these could do some damage, but I've only seen one so am not concerned.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/16391

Mealybug + Mealybug Destroyer

More life on the butterfly weed.

A mealybug appeared...

...and I'm pretty sure this is the larva of a mealybug destroyer. At any rate, the mealybug has disappeared: 

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-15_ladybug_mealybug_destroyer.htm

http://www.eduwebs.org/bugs/mealybug_destroyers.htm

Adult?: