Identificaciones de tfandre

Leafhopper Lifer
My friend spotted this one in the woods. New for us both. No common name. Researched & found out it is fairly rare. Not many reported in North America much less Texas. Not a lot of information about it. Looks very different, more like a spittlebug than a leafhopper.
Same individual as Tracey's in bugguide here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/1871216#3190249 @tfandre

This one is for the katydid which is a lifer. ID confirmed on bugguide here, read all the comments: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2275061 @tfandre
Photo 1:
Mama Goes Grocery Shopping
She landed in front of me with the baby food she had been gathering. I didn't realize it until processing, but she has both an adult and a nymph katydid in her beak. The adult is a large female of what turned out to be a new species of katydid for me.
Broad-tipped Conehead Katydid (Neoconocephalus triops)
Photo 2:
Showing Off Her Catch
It seemed like she was showing off her catch to me. This is not exactly the way I wanted to get a katydid lifer, all squished in a bird's beak. Really amazed the katydid experts in bugguide were able to identify it but they did. She has her tail feathers spread for balance.
Photo 3:
It's BOGO Day
This is the shot where I realized she had 2 bugs in her beak if you look closely. The long pointy ovipositor on the adult katydid lets you know she is female. I am not sure how the top katydid expert knows the nymph is a male with it at that stage but that is why he is the expert.

So glad I spotted it on the leaf. Cooperative subject & I was able to get a good shot that showed off those eyes. Assassin bug with demon eyes.....sounds right.
ID confirmed on bugguide here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2264792 @tfandre

Who Knew?
When I spotted this tiny baby grasshopper, I thought I'd found something new. I sent it to the grasshopper expert only to find it was quite common and I'd seen several of the adults. I would never have expected a baby this color to turn out to be a green-striped grasshopper.
ID confirmed in bugguide here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2266828 @tfandre

Katydid Lifer Looks Like A Leaf
Grandson Everett had me come & look at a big green bug on the side of his house. It turned out to be a new kind of katydid for me & it was quite big. Apparently she had been where the sprinklers were going earlier that morning, she had droplets on her wings. I love how the wings look so leaflike complete with tiny veins.
Female
Id confirmed in bugguide here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2266442 @tfandre

All I knew when I saw this grasshopper was that I'd never seen one like it before. Turned out I had, the tiny green one grandson Everett caught in June was a younger version of this one. This is a middle stage of the prairie boopie grasshopper. My 2nd of this species. I want to find an adult next, they are black.

Female
id confirmed on bugguide here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2267328 @tfandre

Photo 1:
Bee Fly Lifer
Grandson Everett pointed out some tiny flying insects in his mother's flower bed. This one turned out to be new for me. Very pretty when the sun hits that golden fuzz on the thorax. No common name for it.
Photo 2:
Gold Dust
When sunlit, it looks like someone sprinkled gold dust all over it. Beautiful golden sparkles.
id confirmed on bugguide here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2264771 @tfandre

Unusual Color
I went to a plant nursery with my daughter & saw this grasshopper there. It was a strange color I'd not seen before. I thought it was new but the grasshopper experts told me it was a differential nymph which is common. However the expert said "Wing buds look pretty plump and abdomen is distended, so probably about to molt. Maybe that's why the color is a little weird?" So yeah, unusual but kind of a pretty color too.
Id confirmed in bugguide here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2259685 @tfandre

Little Wasp Cutie
It was my second time to find one of these small cuties. They get their name from the habit of carrying grass blades to their cavity nest to partition off cells for several larvae.
Same individual that Tracey has photos of here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/49358722 @tfandre

This observation is for the spider
Photo 1:
That's A Big Catch
Everett & I got to watch a little drama in the garden. This spider had a web that stretched from a rose bush to a tree. Ev told me there was a spider that had caught something. A June bug bigger than the spider.
Photo 2:
Spinning The Catch
The spider started spinning the bug as it tried to wrap silk around it.
Photo 3:
Spidey Fumbles The Catch
The weight of the bug was too much for the web and the beetle ended up slipping from the spider's grasp and fell to the ground as the spider kept grabbing for it.
Photo 4:
No More Catch
Everett & I felt sorry for the spider as it hung there looking at the bug on the ground. Where did my meal go?

ID of spider is confirmed by last photo in bugguide here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2257450
@tfandre

Might be the subspecies bicolor
Photo 1:
Peek-a-boo Beetle
I found a new kind of beetle on a thistle. It was partially hidden at first, peeking out at me. It is a kind of blister beetle. As you can see here, their mouth part is really long so they can suck nectar out of flowers. Thistles must have the sweetest nectar considering all the insects attracted to it.
Texas Thistle (Cirsium texanum)
Photo 2:
Here I Am!
It finally came out where I could see more of it. You can see the entire length of the mouth part here as it prepares to insert it again. Blister beetles get their names due to the fact you can get blisters on your skin if you handle them. For defense, they secrete a blistering agent called Cantharidin. When mating, the male gifts a wad of it to the female and she uses it to cover her eggs to protect them.

Not all lifers are birds. This moth was on a wooden path in the woodlands. Turned out to be new for me. Their host is poplar trees. I checked and Eastern Cottonwoods are in these woodlands which explains the moth. I did not know cottonwoods are poplars until now. Always learning.
ID confirmed in bugguide here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2235793

This was a huge lifer for me. Fish Crows are rare here. You can't get credit for them with a photo only because they look just like regular crows. You have to hear them calling. They have an extremely nasal sounding call which is nothing like the American Crow's caws I am used to. Their habitat is bodies of water & wetlands. I knew there was a nesting pair here. Most people get credit by just hearing them & making a recording. I was incredibly lucky. This one perched high on a snag and called there right by the boardwalk at the wetlands section. So I got some shots & heard that unique call. So cool. Same bird with better shot & recording from Tracey here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/154616525

New Friend
I found this cutie inside my house on my bay window ledge. He kept turning to watch me as I cleaned up the kitchen. Also friendly. He hopped on my hand & I took him outside and released.
ID confirmed in bugguide here: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2232932
@tfandre