Keeled Treehopper (Entylia Carinata), Taken April 27, 2025, In Georgia, US

Green Stink Bug (Chinavia hilaris), nymph, taken September 9, 2024, in Georgia, US

He is the exact same color as this leaf and I love it... A lot of the colorful insects I see aren't on their preferred substrate, so it's hard to get an idea of how well their camouflage works until you see them in their element. If I didn't know what to look for, this guy might just look like a spot of discoloration on a leaf caused by a fungus or parasitic insect, and that's super neat!

Orchard Orbweaver (Leucauge venusta), female, taken April 28, 2024, in Georgia, US

A lovely young lady! I believe she's still subadult because she isn't very dark yet, but she's still beautiful! Orchard Orbweavers can be identified by the orange smiley face on the ventral (under) side of their abdomen, which you can see a bit of in this image. They're one of the most common orbweavers in my area—absolutely all over grasses and shrubs during the spring!

100% agree lol. I've gotten better over the years, but my astraphobia combined with liking to look at bugs and southeast tornado shenanigans makes storms suck a lot.

You're right that the best part of a storm is directly after when the sun has just started to come back out! A lot of insects that are usually flying out of reach are grounded from the weather and easy to photograph, and some that prefer wet weather are more common after rain. I remember going out the day after hurricane Helene hit last year and finding a ton of bugs I'd never seen before because everything was out of sorts from the unusual weather. It was a nice reward for weathering the storm!

It sucks that I can't enjoy thunderstorms that much comparatively to a lot of other people, but as someone who currently lives in a tornado zone and whose hobbies include going outside and walking around looking for bugs, the thing I like most about rain is the immediate aftermath—otherwise it's just, like, a loud, stressful inconvenience to me, sadly

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), male, taken February 10, 2025, in Georgia, US

After weeks of staking my feeders out, ONE brave soul FINALLY inched forward onto the feeder perches. Even if all he did was look around and stare at me judgmentally, he still let me get some nice pictures of him before leaving (without even grabbing a snack..) and I respect him for that. Clearly, blackbirds are braver alone than in groups!

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!

Peeps

Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), taken January 23, 2025, in Georgia, US

Very small, and very very round. Some days the wrens here look more sphere than bird. That's part of their charm!

Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri), taken September 2, 2024, in Georgia, US

Just a polite toad. Fowler's toads the most common Anuran I see in my area, but I always enjoy coming across them regardless. They breed like crazy in my koi pond every summer, and it's always fun to see the tiny froglets emerging from the water!

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), taken July 19, 2024, in New Hampshire, US

This guy sat on this branch and preened for a few minutes. It's the longest I've ever seen a nuthatch sit still! He almost looks like a completely different bird all calm and ruffled like that lol.

Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), males (1-3) and female (4), taken January 10, 2024, in Georgia, US

Male cardinals stand out so much in the white and gray of the snow! However bright they may be, the female of this batch is definitely my favorite. Her almost imposing image framed by branches is just perfect to me.