Ike blew through last night, with 50 mile an hour gusts even this far from landfall. There were branches down all over town this morning, but nothing worse. All the rain stayed in Chicago; we could have used a bit, and I’m sure they would have been happy to not get quite as much. The passing front took the heat and humidity with it. After roasting yesterday, today was properly autumnal and very pleasant. I hope that those with major clean-up work ahead of them have similarly dry and cool weather this week.
While sitting out under a tree yesterday afternoon, a fallen leaf landed on my foot. It didn’t shake off, though, and turned out to be this:
(All of the bug pictures have bigger version if you click on them.)
It was a fabulous insect, with orange legs, and an orange proboscis, plus that wild ridge running down its back.
Tamie recognized it; it is a wheel bug or assassin bug, and really is a bug, unlike many things that get called that.
Wikipedia says they are common but rarely seen – I’d never encountered one. It also says that they have very painful and long-lasting bites, and you should be careful handling with them.
I obviously didn’t know that, but came away unharmed after returning the bug to a tree branch.
on Sep 15th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
What a cool bug! I’m glad you had your camera handy.
When it comes to 6-legged creatures, I am very fond of praying mantises and cicadas (though I’ve never dealt with the infestation you did). In New Mexico I once encountered a walking stick, and that was pretty neat.