Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis Simplicicollis), Female, Taken June 29, 2024, In Georgia, US

Bristle Millipede (Genus Polyxenus), taken March 21, 2025, in Georgia, US

A tiny, spiky millipede! Despite this guy's small size, this is actually the largest bristle millipede I've seen. Usually I find juveniles, which just look like fluffy balls due to them having less segments. On this guy, however, you can see the individual rows of bristles lining each segment!

Taurus Mason Bee (Osmia taurus), taken March 18, 2025, in Georgia, US

Hard at work...admiring a rock? I'm honestly not sure what these guys are doing, possibly removing fine sediment from the rocks? There are dozens flying along the stones on the edge of my creek banks. The best guess I have is that they're collecting fine sand or dirt to do their "mason" work with. They're quite shy, but if I sit still enough, they'll come check out the rocks near me!

Chalcid Wasp (Brasema rhadinosa), female, taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US

Feast your eyes on some (okay-ish) pictures of this gorgeous woman!! She was quite the pain to photograph because she would not sit still ever. She did, however, stay wandering around the top of the same boardwalk post for 3 hours. I have no idea why, but she clearly liked that spot. It ended up being helpful because it allowed me to spend as much time as I needed trying to get decent pictures. A wasp as thin and flat as she is sucks to get in focus, but the effort was worth it! The pictures don't do her justice, but you can still see how pretty she is!

Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge venusta), female, taken April 28, 2024, in Georgia, US

A lovely young lady! I believe she's still subadult because she isn't very dark yet, but she's still beautiful! Orchard Orbweavers can be identified by the orange smiley face on the ventral (under) side of their abdomen, which you can see a bit of in this image. They're one of the most common orbweavers in my area—absolutely all over grasses and shrubs during the spring!

American Robin (Turdus migratorius), male, taken March 7, 2025, in Georgia, US

Possibly the most polite looking robin, ever? This guy looks like he's getting his yearbook photo taken! Robins are insanely photogenic. I don't think I'll ever get tired of photographing them simply because they always look great!

Stretch Spiders (Genus Tetragnatha), female (top) and male (bottom), taken July 7, 2024, in New Hampshire, US

This pair was set up under the awning of a dock lamp. It was an extremely effective setup, seeing as I had to hang out over the water on my stomach and put the life of my phone at risk to get pictures lol! In the top photo, there's a good view of the horrifically large fangs of this genus, while the male on the bottom is showing off his lovely gold coloration! He's a catch!

Leafhopper (Genus Gyponana), nymph, taken March 25, 2025, in Georgia, US

Sometimes life is just a leafhopper dancing... This guy was tiiiiny, probably only 1st or 2nd instar, and he was not a fan of me, as is evident by his defensive dancing! When threatened, leafhopper nymphs (and sometimes adults) will sway back and forth like this to both mimic windblown debris and skew a potential predator's perception of their form. Obviously, this has little effect on humans, but it can save their life if a smaller predator takes interest. Leafhoppers are wonderful animals, and this is one of the many reasons why they're some of my favorites!

Common Loon (Gavia immer), taken July 19, 2024, in New Hampshire, US

Loons are absolutely fascinating to watch. This specific individual was going about the lake with its mate and another pair of loons, possibly from a neighboring lake. It got close enough for me to run out on the dock and try to get pictures at like 8 in the morning, but sadly the sun was on the wrong side of the lake lol! At least the backlighting looks cool!

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), male, taken February 25, 2025, in Georgia, US

Bald!!!!! The spring molt has taken him... Every spring all of the cardinals become bald, and it is both pathetic and wonderful. This guy has started a bit early, so he's the odd man out of the bunch until they all follow!