Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes Carolinus), Female, Taken April 28, 2025, In Georgia, US

I've gotten some decent quality pics of cuckoo wasps with my clip-on macro lens, but I've never had the opportunity to try with my actual camera, so I have no idea if I'd have the same issue as you guys lol. I both love tiny bugs because they're usually surprisingly beautiful but also hate them because they're so small you need an $800 lens to get good pictures of them...

Here is the cuckoo I've gotten w/ my clip-on lens. They're honestly way darker green up close—it must be how the sun hits them!

i am photographing hymenopterans that are smaller and more indistinguishable than you could possibly imagine

Chaos

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), taken March 2, 2025, in Georgia, US

Super fucking shaky footage of one of the regular RS hawk ripping apart a squirrel nest after being chased there by another RS. So mad I had my camera on the wrong mode because this would have been such a nice video if not for the EARTHQUAKE.

At about 1:15 there's some action when the other hawk returns for another attack! They moved further up into the trees, falling through the branches before briefly scattering when a Red-tailed Hawk swooped in to break up the fight! They're probably fighting for a spot to nest this spring, but this area is already used by a pair of RT hawks, so I'm unsure how that's going to pan out. The RT's don't nest close to my house, but I do still see them soaring over and through the woods daily, so they'd definitely see a RS pair using their territory.

Previously there was a RS pair here, but they were forced to move locations when their nest tree was cut down (very salty at my neighbors for that one). Since then, the RT's have slowly been moving further and further into the area, though it's pretty wooded so it's not the best area for them and is legitimately defensible for a RS pair. I know there's been at least one juvenile RS overwintering here without trouble, possibly two seeing as they're now fighting, so we'll see how it pans out! Hopefully one of the two RS's will be successful!

Zabulon Skipper (Lon zabulon), male, taken May 14, 2025, in Georgia, US

My first skipper of the year, proudly showing his colors in the sunlight! Unlike most butterflies, this species displays very noticeable sexual dimorphism, males having bright orange/yellow blotches on their wings while females are mostly brown with some white spotting. They can often be seen perched on leaves, spreading their wings in the sunlight like little orange flowers!

i'm trying to write about The Wonders Of Nature again and it's like...such a Big thing that has a strangle hold on peoples brains its hard to articulate it powerfully enough to break down that barrier.

Essentially trying to say, "There is so much stuff in the natural world that is so beautiful and so cool it puts anything your imagination could come up with to shame. And I don't just mean in a remote jungle reserve somewhere, I mean where YOU live. HOME."

but it's just hard to convey the Intensity of it. cause im not exaggerating when I say that the coolness and fantastic beauty of the world so far exceeds the access most people have to information and experience of it, that starting to learn can provoke this kind of defensive reaction or even like. automatic dismissal or blindness to these experiences when they DO happen.

At least it happened to me. I remember when i was a kid a purple passionflower grew in our yard and i automatically assumed it was someone's weird garden plant that had escaped, rather than a wild plant that was growing naturally in its habitat.

it just kind of breaks the logic of the world I guess? why, in a world where purple passionflower grows by itself, would the landscape be a razed, sterilized wasteland of turfgrass maintained by homeowners that destroy every unfamiliar weed like theyre fighting off a zombie apocalypse

Asian Lady Beetles (Harmonia axyridis), taken May 14, 2025, in Georgia, US

A couple colorful ladybugs soaking up the afternoon sun! I typically don't find adults in such close proximity unless they're mating, so seeing these two just sitting quietly together was very cute. Neither are red, either, which was a very welcome sight amongst the sea of red ladybugs I find every day. They both look like quite young adults, so it's possible they were still drying off from emerging from their pupae. They likely moved on fairly quickly, though, since the boardwalk is currently teeming with larvae, meaning it's hard to sit undisturbed for long!

White-jawed Jumping Spider (Hentzia mitrata), juvenile male, taken March 9, 2025, in Georgia, US

I love this small baby man with his bald patch on his head... It's a little too early for it to be jumping spider season, but I'm still occasionally seeing juveniles out and about. As April comes in, the magnolia greens will begin reaching adulthood and breeding! Mitrata waits until a little later in the year, but that just means I get to see the awkward teens for longer!

Vetch Looper Moth (Caenurgia chloropha), taken April 2, 2025, in Georgia, US

It's new moth season! I'm seeing lots of inchworms dropping from the trees as well as lots of seasonal moths! It's nice to see something more than renia moths for once lol. This guy was a little skittish, but ultimately let me get some pictures. Most moths are much worse subjects!

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 Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina ssp. carolina), juvenile, taken May 25, 2024, in Georgia, US

Literally the most tiny and pathetic thing I have ever seen in my LIFE. Its eyes are too big for its tiny turtle head!!! It was in my front lawn moving Southeast, maybe for spring migration purposes, so I helped it across the road. When I picked it up it let out the most tiny and pathetic squeak of a hiss I have ever heard. Absolutely precious.