Frilly Grass Tubeworm Moth (Acrolophus Mycetophagus), Taken May 25, 2025, In Georgia, US

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), taken May 27, 2024, in Georgia, US

Just a beautiful, solid sparrow! The more I photograph them, the more I come to like sparrows. They're much more colorful than they seem from afar, and I love all of their intricate patterning! This individual sat very politely for me, what a champ.

Nomad Bees (Genus Nomada), taken May 5, 2025, in Georgia, US

Some little red bees! These guys are always super busy unless, of course, they're sleeping like in the third image! Yesterday the bees were quite gracious with their landing times, sitting still long enough for me to actually press the shutter button lol. Normally, they're flying around constantly, searching for the burrows of other bees to lay their eggs in!

Tan Jumping Spider (Platycryptus undatus), female, taken October 28, 2023, in Georgia, US

A head-on view of a small jumping friend! You can see her tapping her palps on the post as she moves, likely for extra sensory input. She was quite wary of me, but she was nice and allowed me to take a nice video and get a couple pictures! Tan jumpers have such fuzzy faces, unlike most other jumpers I see, and that gives them extra cuteness points in my head!

Red-shouldered Bug (Jadera haematoloma), taken April 4, 2025, in Georgia, US

Just a little guy posing for a picture! He seemed to be following the camera as I tried to get different angles. This insect has two adult morphs: long-winged (macropterous) and short-winged (brachypterous). The short-winged morph has, as you could infer, shorter wings that leave part of the abdomen exposed. I've seen both forms in a solitary setting, though this species apparently tends to have higher rates of short-winged adults when they live in groups. Less need for wings when you don't have to go anywhere to find a mate!

Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina), female, taken September 20, 2024, in Georgia, US

What a strange looking stick! Praying mantises are wonderful insects, and they make the most perfect photo subjects. Some will even walk right on your hand if you hold it out for them. That's fun for about 3 minutes until they're clinging to your sleeve or on your back and wont leave lol!

Lesser Anglewings (Microcentrum retinerve), nymphs, taken May 2, 2025, in Georgia, US

Katydids in their awkward baby phase! Their legs are so spindly and long as young nymphs, kind of like a horse foal. Even though their limbs are a bit too long, they are still very nimble and navigate the tall grasses with ease. Alongside these guys, I'm also seeing lots of meadow katydid nymphs which will eventually become short-winged and handsome meadow katydids, though it's impossible to tell which at their current age!

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!

Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), taken May 20, 2025, in Georgia, US

This offended squirrel is staring down at me after I scared him away from his foraging spot! I didn't want to, but he was directly in my path, as squirrels often are. He did make for a cute picture before he parkoured up and away through the trees, though. Squirrels get too much of a bad rep. They're called "tree rats" for being annoyances but, in reality, they are just silly little guys. I absolutely love it when they visit the feeders, even when they jump onto them to stuff their faces!

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula), taken February 10, 2025, in Georgia, US

The "king" part of this bird's name has certainly gone to their heads. I've seen these little guys pick on some pretty big birds, with notable success. It pays to be little and mean in the bird world!

Nomad Bees (Genus Nomada), taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US

Sleepy bees!! I found several nomad bees taking naps on the bare branches of some shrubs. None of them woke, even when I manhandled the branches for better pictures. I only see this species sleeping in this way, though I know other nomad bees do it. I assume other species use different objects to stay steady and that's why I haven't found them—it makes sense that larger bees would use larger anchors!