Sunday, July 19, 2015

Half-Inch Mystery

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Yes, the catbird is still un-skulking.  Here's the birdbath this morning.  
But what I want help with is this exquisite creature, which landed on the windshield as I backed into the driveway.  It was so lovely I got out and went back in for the camera -- which turned out to be inadequate.  Zooming just made the lens aim for the garage in the background.  This is the best I could do. The color, at least, is just right.
You're looking at less than an inch: half an inch for the body, another half an inch for those antennae.  When the lovely creature started moving up the windshield, it fluttered what turned out to be two sets of those transparent checkered wings.
I have no idea how to Google for its name -- I'd like to know, for instance, whether anyone ever wrote a poem about this creature.  Any help will be much appreciated.

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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 19, 2015 at 3:05 PM

    Could it be a lacewing? Here's a link:
    http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/green_lacewing.htm

    Pretty name, and it does say 1/2 inch.

    Meg L

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  2. A. MarieJuly 19, 2015 at 3:55 PM

    I think Meg's got it in one. "Lacewing" was my immediate thought, and one of the photos on the Wikipedia entry is a dead ringer (well, actually, I hope it's a live ringer) for yours. Well done, City Mouse Meg!

    Moreover, lacewings are good guys in the garden: The larvae are actually known as "aphid lions," and they're predators of various other insects as well. So I hope that your lacewing and its kindred live long and prosper!

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousJuly 20, 2015 at 5:15 PM

      City Mouse doesn't know a yew from a sycamore but she is good at googling. Presented for your consideration, a poem about green lacewings: http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/fahey-diane/green-lacewings-0195041

      Meg

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