bugs in the blooms

Not sure what this guy is - maybe a cicada or a fat grasshopper?

Many people shudder when the insect world comes in contact with their world.  But most insects don't do any damage to the garden.  They are an indication that all is well in your environment - that pesticides which can kill them all are not doing unseen damage to other creatures.  Insect adults, larvae, and eggs also provide an important food source for birds, amphibians, and reptiles who depend on them to survive.

Hers is a look at what is crawling and flying around my garden:

Green iridescent bug (perhaps a hover fly) on a daylily.

Honeybee in the butterfly weed

This longhorn beetle came too close to my environment.
I found him on the livingroom rug.

I talk a good game about being friendly with the insects in my world, but now I'm eating my words.
A steady stream of bees is buzzing in and out of a spot under the step just a foot from my front door.
I want to be a good steward of the environment, but I also don't want to get stung.

Haven't decided if I'm going to bring out the big pesticide guns, or if I will just choose to use the side door for the rest of the summer.

This moth was hitchhiking on the side of my car.