Spiny Assassin Bug (Sinea Spinipes), Taken May 5, 2025, In Georgia, US

Globular Springtails (Order Symphypleona), taken March 20, 2025, in Georgia, US

In order of appearance: Ptenothrix curvilineata (1), undescribed Dicyrtoma sp. (2), Ptenothrix marmorata (3), undescribed/unknown Ptenothrix sp. (4)

I've been in a globular springtail phase for a couple months now, and the past few days I've been doubling down in my efforts to find as many as possible. I spent a couple hours yesterday digging through dead wood and found and photographed 40 individuals! I love the diversity of patterning in this group—they're absolutely tiny, but so so gorgeous.

P. marmorata is definitely the most common customer in my part of the woods, but I found lots of the 4th individual as well. That guy is a bit of a strange situation, since it might actually be a regional color morph variant of P. marmorata! It doesn't look much like it, but animals are weird and this stuff happens sometimes. Hopefully we find out what it is soon!

Southern Sprite (Nehalennia integricollis), teneral female, taken May 1, 2025, in Georgia, US

A delicate damsel! I'm extremely excited to have gotten some good pictures of this species, as they're pretty rare in my area. I've only seen one previously, a male last summer. Males of this species can be identified by their bright blue eyes and tail tips which contrast their otherwise green and white body. Females look very similar when fully adult but can be differentiated, having dark blue eyes, duller bodies, and a much smaller blue spot on the tail (white tail spot on the individual in the photo). Now that I'm actually actively looking for damselflies when I go out, I hope I'll see more new faces!

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), male, taken February 11, 2025, in Georgia, US

Cardinals have been pretty shy at the feeders as of late. They all show up and just sit in the trees, too nervous to come down. Even a red-winged blackbird came down before them, and they've been horribly difficult for me to photograph! This guy came down to pose for me, though! He seems to be starting his spring molt, poor guy lol.

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), taken February 11, 2025, in Georgia, US

The wrens and sparrows prefer this one specific area underneath two bushes for foraging. Luckily, if I sit in a specific spot, it's the perfect distance for them to feel comfortable while also being close enough that I can get decent pictures! The greenery brought on by the grass coming back in suits the sparrows well, I think!

Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), taken April 23, 2025, in Georgia, US

A vibrant skink running up a tree to escape me! I found so many skinks while out yesterday, this being one of them! Normally, I rarely find lizards, but they were popping out of the woodworks for whatever reason—possibly trying to feed before the evening's storm arrived? Whatever the reason, I love to see them!

Carolina Chickadees (Poecile carolinensis), taken January 29, 2025, in Georgia, US

Nobody was very brave today aside from a couple robins and a mockingbird that gave me the stink eye. These chickadees chased each other around a good distance from me, though! Along with downy woodpeckers, they're usually the bravest around people, at least at bird feeders!

Cuckoo Wasp (Family Chrysididae), taken May 5, 2025, in Georgia, US

I fear my photography career has peaked with this one. I don't think I've ever seen anything so cute in my life. This little lady was simply just sleeping on the stem of a leaf, completely unaware of the fact that I was frantically taking as many pictures of her as possible. In the end, she put out a single antenna to sense me better but never ended up moving, so I'd say my attempt to not disturb her was successful! I had no idea cuckoos slept like this—it's adorable!!! One billion more, please!!

Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita), male, taken April 24, 2025, in Georgia, US

The fragilist, but not the smallest, of forktails... This species is the third most common damselfly in my area, surpassed only by smoky-winged dancers and turquoise bluets. Despite their small size, they're actually much more amenable to being photographed than the much larger smoky-wingeds. All damselflies are skittish about being photographed, though, so I've been getting a lot of exercise in the form of lunges and squats while chasing these guys around! Sometimes it's not even me scaring them, but other damselflies chasing them off their spot!

Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum), female, taken September 28, 2024, in Georgia, US

Handsome, indeed! I have dozens of pictures of these guys, not just because they exist in excess here, but also because they're just too beautiful for me to pass up photographing! This species is differentiable from all others in the genus at almost every life stage by its bright blue eyes, which nobody else shares. It's quite striking to see a katydid with a rainbow of colors, even after having seen them a hundred times!

White-jawed Jumping Spider (Hentzia mitrata), juvenile, taken October 8, 2024, in Georgia, US

Videos of jumping spiders jumping at my camera are one of my favorite nature-related things to collect. On top of it being adorable, there is also variation in how each spider approaches the jump, especially their windup. I like scrolling through and looking at how all of them differ as individuals! This one was pretty calm about it, but I sometimes get jumpers who only aim with one leg, or even wave their legs around wildly while preparing to jump!