Check out the camouflage on this grasshopper:

[Another Anonymous comment gives me the ID: "The well-camouflaged grasshopper looks like a Carolina Grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina). Its hind wings, only visible in flight, are black with a yellow border." Thank you, Anonymous! Clearly I have some knowledgeable readers.]

Here's a better look at the male whitetail dragonfly:

On the way home Monday night Norah and I found this guy, which I've identified as an American Dagger Moth caterpillar:

If anyone is wondering about a bug they've seen, here are a few sites I've found very helpful:

http://whatsthatbug.com/index.html Choose your bug type from the 'Bug Info' list on the left and scroll through until you recognize the one you're interested in. Check out some of the amazingly colourful grasshoppers!

http://bugguide.net/node/view/11806 Click on one of the bug drawings on the left for photos.

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/insects/cateast/cutworm.htm Thanks to this site, I've finally learned the name of a caterpillar I photographed in June. Behold the Grapevine Epimenis! (The 'Grapevine' part is a big clue, since that's where this one was hanging out. I hope it survived and turned into this gorgeous little moth.)

That site also has some amusing caterpillar names:

• Afflicted Dagger Moth
• Hesitant Dagger Moth Complex (maybe therapy ...?)
• Impressed Dagger Moth
• Confused Meganola
• Shivering Pinion
• Subdued Quaker
• Intractable Quaker (I've met a few of those)
• Girlfriend Underwing
• Baltimore Bomolocha (isn't that a dance?)