Gray Catbird (Dumetella Carolinensis), Taken April 30, 2025, In Georgia, US

Crab Spiders (Genus Mecaphesa), taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US

Some crab spiders hiding underneath flowers! This is a known undescribed species, currently labeled "black tibia spot" (for obvious reasons) as far as I know. I see them pretty often hanging out, especially on fleabane flowers like this. Crab spiders are ambush predators, and most in the genus Mecaphesa lie in wait on similarly-colored flowers until a prey item (flies, beetles, and perhaps small bees) lands on it. The spider quickly overtakes its prey and hides underneath the petals of the flower to enjoy. A rather boring life for us, but these guys don't seem to mind!

Peeps

Still a bit too early in the year for my mothing sheet to be as busy as I'd like, but I've still gotten a handful of interesting visitors

Ichneumonid Wasps(Family Ichneumonidae), Genus Raphia Ornate Tiger Moth(Apantesis ornata), Genus Eteobalea Genus Cameraria, White-lined Sphinx(Hyles lineata) Marbled Oak Dagger(Acronicta marmorata), Leaf Blotch Miner Moths(Family Gracillariidae) Two-spotted Leafhopper(Sophonia orientalis), Zale Moths(Genus Zale)

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), taken April 27, 2024, in Georgia, US

Probably my second favorite set of bird photos I've ever taken! I love how white-throated sparrows look, and this guy just posed so perfectly. I haven't been able to replicate these photos since I got them because all of the birds are so shy, but I'm still trying. Maybe I'll get lucky with a brave bird soon...

Oh!!! Freaking love these!! The jellybean is excellent, oh my god...

I ended up getting the raynox after we discussed it a little more on the post you made about it! The only time I've ever seen a cuckoo wasp was in New Hampshire, so I don't know if I'll get to try it out on one soon, but I honestly hope not because I have barely figured out how to get a medium-sized bee in focus regularly... I'll probably make a post with some pictures and my thoughts so far soon—I got some really nice ones of a nomad bee and some spiders today :)

I have no idea how you managed to get such nice focus on small things like springtails. I'm guessing it's partially use of flash (I just use the raw flash—no add-on for that yet so I'm avoiding using it with the raynox), but tips are definitely welcome if you're willing to provide any!

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

My beloveds... a whole row of some of my favorite native inverts and, of course, robins.

iNaturalist reblog game: post your top 5 most observed species. i'll go first

Velvetbean Caterpillar Moth (Anticarsia gemmatalis), taken September 28, 2024, in Georgia, US

Aside from Renia moths, these are some of the most common lepidopteran inhabitants of the leaflitter in my back woods! They're terrible to photograph because they startle when leaves crunch near them, so I always have to creep up on them really slowly. Even then, it sometimes takes several minutes for me to finally catch one! Despite their drab coloration, I still find them quite beautiful. They're perfectly made for forest floor life!

European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), juvenile, take May 9, 2025, in Georgia, US

A little guy! I've been seeing this young fellow flying around the bird feeders for a few days and was finally able to get some good shots of him. I never see him with any parents, so I have no way of telling if he's a nest parasite or was raised by the local starlings, though the previous year the starlings raised their own babies, so I assume they did this spring as well. He's looking lively and healthy and eats on his own, so he's well on his way to becoming a strong adult!

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), male (top) and Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) (bottom), taken June 27, 2024, in Georgia, US

Whenever I look at these photos, I always like to put them next to each other to compare. In terms of woodland birds, these two could be considered opposites of one another, being arguably the most famous blue and red birds of North America, at least in the east!

Seeing as these were taken in about the same pose, at the same distance, it's also a good comparison of anatomy and size. I don't think it really hits home how much bigger jays are than cardinals until you see it yourself in person. There was a long period of my childhood that I considered the two equals, and learning that the jay was much larger was a big surprise later on!

Ichneumon Wasp (Limonethe maurator), taken August 17, 2024, in Georgia, US

A lithe wasp for the wasp-likers! I can't wait for it to be wasp season again... The paper wasps are back out, and I swear I saw a spider or great black digger wasp in the leaves the other day, but it flew away before I could get a good look. I also found and lost a damselfly I've never seen before, but I can stop being salty about that when I find another one (hopefully). Regardless, the wasps are coming back, and here is one I look forward to seeing again!