So last night, I went to get a drink of sweet tea, and there was this freaky bug inside the cup, just chilling on the inner wall about a half inch above the liquid. No wings, which meant it crawled up the side of the cup, over the lip, and lowered itself down to its precarious position. Hell, maybe it was thirsty, I dunno...
I've been unable to identify it. At first glance I thought it was some kind of spider, because it was all legs--almost no thorax. But it was only six-legged, and the rear pair of legs were held up
above the body in sort of a defensive/threatening posture. Also, no mandibles..instead had a proboscis or rostrum of some kind. Legs were wire-thin, the whole insect was about the size of a US dime, maybe a bit bigger. Black with what looked like a single white "knee" on each leg. Small antennae, not a particularly elongated body.
I picked up the cup and went to dump it in the sink, and in a brief moment when my glance was averted, it
vanished. Again, no wings. Which makes me think this thing can jump like a motherfucker.
Best guess so far is some species of assassin bug.
Oh, and a few weeks back, I came out of the house on a blazing hot day to find THIS slowly roasting on the roof of my car:
It was still barely alive. Best guess is that it was a caterpillar of a Luna moth or Polyphemus moth. That, or Kog'Maw's little brother.
BTW, I cam across quite possibly the cutest caterpillar I've ever seen:
For some reason, it makes me think of the DRD's in Farscape. Only furry!