Green Anole (Anolis Carolinensis), Juvenile Female, Taken September 22, 2024, In Georgia, US

Common Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon), juvenile, taken May 22, 2025, in Georgia, US

My first (and hopefully not last) snake of the year: a tiny watersnake! This guy couldn't have been very old. I would actually guess based on his size that he was very recently born! The little creek I found him in will provide a great place to begin life, full of small fish, salamander larvae, and invertebrates for this baby to eat until he's large enough to eat bigger prey and swim long distances.

Unlike most other snakes, N. sipedon is ovoviviparous, meaning eggs develop and hatch inside the mother before being laid, and the mother gives birth directly to baby snakes! Upon being born, these babies are immediately independent and soon leave the mother, who can give birth to—in extreme cases—up to 30 babies!

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!

Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis), taken October 23, 2024, in Georgia, US

October is getting to the end of mantis season! 2024 was the first time I was ever outside looking for it, and I got to see lots of fun mantises, including this one! He was the perfect model, even if he got a little freaked out at the end and put his legs out.

Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis), female, taken March 11, 2025, in Georgia, US

This warm day brought out not only a big wave of pollinators, but also my first reptile of the year! I turned my back to go inside and switch lenses for pollinator pictures and happened to hear leaves brush against each other. When I turned around, I saw the moving leaves where this little lady landed and was able to get some nice pictures before she decided she wanted back on the tree she was originally on!

Eastern Subterranean Termites (Reticulitermes flavipes), taken February 26, 2025, in Georgia, US

Where there is wood, there is termites. This area of the woods with tons of dead pines is a buffet for them, so of course I found a ton of them lol. It's always interesting to watch them shy away from the light when exposed!

White-jawed Jumping Spider (Hentzia mitrata), female, taken April 22, 2025, in Georgia, US

A cute female jumper who thinks she's hiding from me! I absolutely adore this species—they're my little locals. I'm seeing lots of adult males about, so they're preparing to breed soon! Juveniles of this genus are usually unable to be IDed to species until they begin to gain their adult colors. H. mitrata juveniles retain their white legs while H. palmarum (Common Hentz Jumping Spider) and most others in the genus develop brown front legs and brown or black patterning as opposed to orange.

Globular Springtail (Ptenothrix renateae), taken February 7, 2025, in Georgia, US

I spent about half an hour yesterday inspecting a wet, rotten log and found some absolutely epic looking springtails!! This guy is probably my favorite of those finds, but I also found a different black and gold one who from the naked eye literally just looked like a speck of dust. The only reason I saw him was because he was on a pretty smooth spot of wood and he was running like mad. When stuff is that small, it really helps if it's moving!

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), taken February 18, 2025, in Georgia, US

My feeder had a very large visitor this morning! Despite how close to the house it is, we get hawks perching on the feeder much more often than you would think. This guy spent over 20 minutes soaking in the late-morning sun and getting screamed at by hundreds of birds before he finally decided it was too loud. At one point a bluejay perched a few feet away in the nearby japanese maple and used up his entire arsenal of calls yelling at the hawk lol! It was extremely loud...

After a few minutes of him sunning, the smaller birds said fuck it and started eating again, and I got some decent video of him watching them flit around that I'll probably post later. I also got a video of him taking off, which I'll definitely post, but I have to figure out how to export the videos from my camera first! I've never taken video on this one before. So enjoy only photos for now!

Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis), male, taken April 13, 2025, in Georgia, US

My first dasher of the year! I found several species of odonates at this pond bank. There were dozens of dragonflies and damselflies zipping about, though this guy made the best picture by far. I love how this species sits—they pose excellently for photos!

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.