I think this may be the last from this bunch of photos.
1. The overall shape reminded me of an Ambush bug, but it was larger than the ones I am familiar with. My eyes are starting to glaze over, there are 251 pages of images of Assassin bugs to wade through at Bug Guide. Something in the Triatominae family?
2. A Duskywing, Erynnis?
Thank you again for your help.
Your assassin bug appears to be Acholla multispinosa – see http://wwn.inhs.illinois.edu/~sjtaylor/reduviidae/Acholla.jpg
Your butterfly is not a skipper (look at the antennae tips); it looks like it might be something in the family Nymphalidae, but I’m not sure what…
I appreciate your help. I looked up the A. multispinosa, apparently it's the only one of this genus in the eastern portion of the US. Glad it's here.
I'll look further into the butterfly, see if I can come up with more. We have others in that family here:
