Rufous-backed Cellophane Bees (Colletes Thoracicus), Males, Taken April 21, 2025, In Georgia, US

Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos), taken May 27, 2024, in Georgia, US

Just a mom and dad trying their best. The individual in the top right image, who I believe is mom, seems to have used some of her breast feathers for their nest. During breeding season, they're pretty territorial of the feeders, but not so much that nobody else can eat. In recent years, they've actually chilled out. The dad used to sit on the feeder for up to an hour chasing other birds off but never eating himself!

I've gotten some decent quality pics of cuckoo wasps with my clip-on macro lens, but I've never had the opportunity to try with my actual camera, so I have no idea if I'd have the same issue as you guys lol. I both love tiny bugs because they're usually surprisingly beautiful but also hate them because they're so small you need an $800 lens to get good pictures of them...

Here is the cuckoo I've gotten w/ my clip-on lens. They're honestly way darker green up close—it must be how the sun hits them!

i am photographing hymenopterans that are smaller and more indistinguishable than you could possibly imagine

Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge venusta), juvenile, taken March 18, 2025, in Georgia, US

Behold, a spider belly! In even the smallest orchard orbweaver, the orange smiley on their abdomen is visible. This is diagnostic for the species, along with 3 stripes that run down their cephalothorax, one down the center and 2 on the margins, but that isn't visible here. Those markings allow you to differentiate the species from Joro Spiders, which look extremely similar as juveniles. A smiliar species, the Mabel Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge argyrobapta), is often confused with this one but can be distinguished (if not by range) by its blue hues and larger, more yellow smiley. This is only the case for some individuals, though, as females of the species are nearly identical and males can only be distinguished by the shape of their palps. Both are beautiful regardless!

Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina), male, taken April 1, 2025

Quite the uncommon visitor showed his face at the feeders yesterday! I've only seen hooded warblers once before: a small group traveling south last fall. Males of this species can be distinguished from females by the black band around their face, which resembles a hood! Females can look much like other warblers such as Pine Warblers (Setophaga pinus). They can be distinguished from male pine warblers by their olive backs and easily distinguished from the brown females by color!

Braconid Wasp (Family Braconidae), female, taken April 23, 2025, in Georgia, US

A elegant woman with an even more elegant butt-katana! This little lady was flitting around slowly in the wake of brief rainfall, likely cautious of flying, so she made an easy subject. My favorite types of wasps are ones who sit still and stare off into space for long periods of time—easy pickings!

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata), female, taken March 11, 2025, in Georgia, US

What a lovely lady! In terms of warblers, these guys are pretty skittish compared to others that visit. They prefer to dart quickly in and out, which makes photographing them difficult but all the more rewarding! The males of this species have started gaining their yellow crowns, as I've been seeing them appear in some individuals.

THANK YOU!!! I am a total noob at cameras, so this is all really really helpful!! I haven't adjusted most of my settings (other than the obvious, like sound and timezone and other basic stuff) other than switching my focus to manual when using the raynox like you suggested—definitely a good tip, I can guess what the camera does when it's on auto lol.

I am certainly feeling the learning curve right now, but I find the increased challenge really rewarding. It also forces me to slow down and spend more time on each individual I photograph, which makes the whole process feel more personal. You said the 70-300mm was wonky when you tried it, but I'm actually enjoying it a lot lol. It allows me to tailor the magnification for each subject I photograph depending on size and produces a higher quality image than my 18-55. After a certain point (~100 or 135mm I think?) flash is inviable with it, though, because the lens starts interfering and causing a shadow, so I have to stick to sunny areas with it if I want to go up to 200mm. I'll have to play around with flash more on both lenses since I think most of the clarity issues I'm having with the 18-55 can be fixed with it, and flash usually makes everything better anyways.

Again I really appreciate these tips!! I'll have to try them out when I go out tomorrow, especially playing with the flash and aperture settings, and see how that changes things!

i am photographing hymenopterans that are smaller and more indistinguishable than you could possibly imagine

Tube-tailed Thrip (Genus Neurothrips), taken January 30, 2025, in Georgia, US

What a cool tiny beast!! I can't get over the fact that he wagged his little tail at me... So cute! In reality this guy is about 2 1/2mm long, so he's not very ferocious—unless you're a fungus! Most thrips, like this one, feed on fungus, but some are known to cause some damage to crops in large groups. I suspect this individual is N. magnafemoralis, but I don't know enough about thrips to be certain. The genus is certainly distinctive, however! Little boneless dinosaurs!

Freshwater Planarian (Family Planariidae), taken March 18, 2025, in Georgia, US

Who is this silly little guy!!! He was in a little puddle in the woods, living his best life. When out of water like this, planarians move in an inching motion, pulling themselves along like a worm. It seems as though his epidermal layer is transparent, allowing you to see his stomach and some mystery white stuff (probably patterning)!

Jumping Spider (Admestina wheeleri), male, taken July 17, 2024, in New Hampshire, US

His task? Uncertain, but he's doing something! This genus nests in crevices in tree bark, but I'm not sure if he's trying to create a nest, deposit sperm, or a secret third task.

The picture was taken after the video while I followed him on his journey around this tree for at least 10 minutes before I decided he wasn't of interest any more. He wandered away from where he made this possible nest in a seemingly random direction, kind of just meandering along the tree, and it has me wondering if he decided the spot he chose wasn't suitable for a nest. Regardless, this genus is known to be quite illusive, so I wanted to document the behavior in a video in case it was of interest. Who knows!