6 Legs in the Fall!

With the exception of the last photo, all of these critters are insects, featuring 6 legs, 3 body parts, one or 2 pairs of wings, 1 pair of antennae, and an exoskeleton. They were all photographed on November 6th.

A very tattered Cabbage White Butterfly.

Oval circles on hind wing: Common Buckeye continue to fly on the milder days. I had not noticed before that the spots on the wings can change from oval to circular, depending upon how wide the wings are being held.

With wings outstretched, spots appear circular on the same Common Buckeye.

Large Milkweed Bug: They are always abundant on milkweed plants in our garden but it decided to rest on a Dense Blazing Star this week.

It is unlikely that American Painted Ladies overwinter in Ontario. They are highly migratory and move towards the equator to escape cold weather. With mild winters in recent years, it is possible that they will overwinter at the pupae stage.

The ROM Field Guide to butterflies of Ontario, Peter W. Hall et al, 2014

Praying Mantis egg case. Approximately 100 tiny mantis's will emerge in late spring/early summer.

A few plants, including this Goldenrod species are still blooming. A close look at the flower clusters reveal over a dozen ants looking for nectar.

The Autumn Meadowhawk is typically the last Meadowhawk to fly in the later fall season. This individual was well camouflaged on the Sandy Cherry bush in our garden.

Common Drone Flies have been abundant lately. Two of them are sharing a Knapweed flowerhead.

iNaturalist suggests this is a Brown-lipped Snail, which is an introduced species from Europe. This Mollusk obviously doesn't have 6 legs, but it wanted its picture taken.