Maybe it's time to wash the windows again

Is it me being more slovenly than usual or are the spiders more dedicated in their web building endeavors this year? It seems that every time I remove one web (usually by walking through it) another two or three spring up in its place. On the one hand I am itching to get the Windex out, on the other I'm enchanted by the size of the web... and Halloween is nearly upon us...

Big Brown Butterfly

Caught on the big blue spruce and brought to me by The Grey Knight (formerly known as The Guy) who thought I'd appreciate it and maybe like to share it with the interwebs - does this man know me at all? I don't like dead Lepidoptera any more than I like them live, so I had him place it on the patio table where I could photograph it from a safe distance (I would have preferred he left it in the tree and called me to shoot it there but apparently that wasn't an option).
I have no idea what the species is, whether it's a moth or a butterfly but it's big, brown and bound to be one of these. It's about 6" from wingtip to wingtip, so if it had flown near me I would have screamed like a girl yet I'm sad that something that was so pretty is now lifeless. Anyone out there have a clue to its common or scientific name? (Click to embiggen).

Crickets

Crickets
Originally uploaded by modernemama

I found this laid neatly on the step outside the kitchen door. A large cricket - perhaps three inches long.
I don't know what killed it or how it got there but perhaps these two have something to do with it? They look much too innocent, though.

Cobweb, fungus or something more serious?

cobweb or fungus?
Originally uploaded by modernemama

I noticed a new decoration to the siding yesterday, one I haven't seen before. It's 2-4" across and 3-4" long with a curved edge. There are groups of them under my bedroom window and along the east side of the house, on the garage.



Does anyone have any idea what they are? They'll be coming down this weekend when we are power-washing, but I'd like to know if I should add it to the list of things that could potentially cause my house to fall down and thus I should worry about. Thanks.

Guess what the cat dragged in?

Lavae large sphinx moth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)
Originally uploaded by modernemama

Hermes is trying his paw at hunting. This morning he found this 5" caterpillar by the rhododendron outside my office window and carried it around for a while until I persuaded him to drop it in return for cat treats.
I wikipediaed it and it appears to be the lavae of a large sphinx moth. There's a much prettier photo here.
I've never seen one before but it could be the variety that lives on vines as I spent more time yesterday pulling them out.
You'll be happy to know that it survived the cat attack and it's crawling off to another bush as I type.

The annual swarm

The clocks have sprung forward and the temperature is nearly 60F so it must be spring, right? I wasn't convinced because I like to go by the equinox but when I looked out of my bathroom window this morning I noticed this beauty. At the moment it's only tiny so we will need to get rid of it pronto.
Every year it's the same, they build 'em, we knock 'em down. A kind of renewal of the earth ritual, involving sacifice and slaughter. These guys are getting craftier. The first year they were in the weeping juniper, which is a good 15' from the house and easy to spray and remove. Last year they were under the garage overhang - a quick bang with a stick into a waiting sack and they were gone. This time we are going to have to get on a ladder, on Saturday when the temperature is set to plummet 30 degrees to below freezing and we may be blanketed by a late snowstorm too.
I'm looking forward to it. Let battle commence.