Nomad Bee (Genus Nomada), Taken March 28, 2025, In Georgia, US

They stopped after I took this photo, I embarrassed them

🪲ID Guess: I-Mark Leaf Beetle (Calomela crassicornis) 🌿Date: 25/01/2025

if you do not live in the uk or north america it is your legal obligation to download inaturalist and start uploading. please everyone who uses it is in north america or the uk we need obs that arent here

Buffalo Treehopper (Stictocephala militaris), nymph, taken May 14, 2025, in Georgia, US

What a wicked-looking treehopper nymph! I see lots of these guys when they're very small, but this is my first time seeing a large nymph of this species, and I was certainly not disappointed! He was an excellent subject as well, sitting completely still even as I manhandled the vine he was sitting on for a better angle. The adults of this genus, like most treehoppers, look unrecognizable next to their nymphs. All of the spikes disappear, and what is left is a smooth, teardrop-shaped green hopper with clear wings and two red horns on either side of its head, kind of like a buffalo as the name would imply!

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!

A reminder: if you were taught that mosquitoes in general are useless to the environment and could be eliminated “without consequence”, then you were taught incorrectly. People still regularly comment this silly notion on my posts with absolute confidence. Our goal is reducing risk to humans, NOT eliminating the dangerous animal altogether.

You don’t have to like irritating, gross, or dangerous animals (most people do not), but if you are ever arguing for the extinction of an entire animal species try to remember the natural world is unfathomably complex in ways none of us can predict.

I've got you. A very small (chalcidoid) wasp checking out a bunch of aphids...

Busy today, so no nice bugs. However, perhaps you could take a moment to imagine…a very small wasp. Wow. Nice.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius), male, taken March 7, 2025, in Georgia, US

Possibly the most polite looking robin, ever? This guy looks like he's getting his yearbook photo taken! Robins are insanely photogenic. I don't think I'll ever get tired of photographing them simply because they always look great!

False Mealworm Beetle (Alobates pensylvanicus), taken March 18, 2025, in Georgia, US

A little beetle, as a treat. Look at this wonderful individual! I found him sheltering under pine bark I was peeling up, and I must have woken him up because he was very slow to start. It took me poking at him a few times (to check for life) before he decided he hated that, actually, and slowly lumbered underneath the log!

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), taken March 7, 2025, in Georgia, US

Just a nervous guy looking for seeds under the feeders. Surprisingly, he was one of few who didn't take off when I initially went outside to find my spot, so I was actually able to get decent dove pictures for once. Most of them involved him peeking his head above the rocks to look at me like in the second photo, though!

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), taken March 12, 2025, in Georgia, US

The bloodroot is finally showing its pretty face! There's tons of flowers blooming out of the leaflitter. This is my first time catching them in full bloom, and they're gorgeous! This plant is named after its red roots, which can sometimes resemble the color of blood. Its flowers can also take many different shapes, some having shorter petals with round edges similar to a daisy, and others like these, though they also exist in every form between those two extremes!