Wildlife photography of all kinds in no particular chronological order... call me North!All photos posted are taken by me, and everything that appears here is documented on iNaturalist as well.
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Latest Posts by northerlyy - Page 3
Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri), taken April 21, 2025, in Georgia, US
Quite the wise-looking toad! His eyes look like they see all—or maybe they see too much. I did almost step on him. While he was processing his near-death experience, I took the opportunity to get some nice macros of his face, and, even though I couldn't get the whole thing in focus, they turned out nice! This was my favorite of them because you can better see the curve of his mouth and the reflection of the woods around us in his eyes. After he finished recovering, he hopped off, likely in search of dinner!
Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa), female, taken April 22, 2025, in Georgia, US
What I thought was a lifer dragonfly, but turned out to be the female of a species I've seen once before! This lady seemed quite relaxed around me, flying almost lazily through the air and allowing me to get very close (for a dragonfly). As far as dragonflies go, this species is quite small, and so is the rest of their genus, aptly named "small pennants"!
Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), taken April 23, 2025, in Georgia, US
A vibrant skink running up a tree to escape me! I found so many skinks while out yesterday, this being one of them! Normally, I rarely find lizards, but they were popping out of the woodworks for whatever reason—possibly trying to feed before the evening's storm arrived? Whatever the reason, I love to see them!
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.
Pale Green Assassin Bug (Zelus luridus), taken April 20, 2025, in Georgia, US
Behold: an adept assassin! This is the earliest I've seen an adult of this species—usually I only find nymphs until around July. Whether that's because there are less adults or because they're too good at camouflage I do not know! Assassin bugs move slowly and strike their prey with their proboscis, injecting paralyzing venom and sucking the juices out of their prey, similarly to spiders. Because they have venom, their "bites" can be quite painful, but are generally harmless and quite rare. I can't imagine they're any more likely to bite than spiders, and I handle spiders safely regularly, so I'd say they're safe to hold as long as you're respectful!
Rufous-backed Cellophane Bees (Colletes thoracicus), males, taken April 21, 2025, in Georgia, US
More bees!! Hundreds of young bachelors are scouring the ground for ladies. The females of this species are differentiable from males by their dark orange fuzz, lack of white stripes on their abdomens, and noticeably larger size. Males are slightly variable in size, but females are always larger. Most of these pictures were taken in the same spot. I watched for 5 or so minutes as dozens of males attempted to wedge their way underneath a leaf, buzzing at each other all the while. I'm not sure if a female was hiding under there, or if it just smelled like her, but they were extremely adamant on getting under that leaf!
Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans), taken April 20, 2025, in Georgia, US
Little guys!! Cricket frogs are out all over the place right now! I keep scaring them when I patrol the creek banks because it's nearly impossible to see them before they move. Once they think they're hidden, though, you can just scoop them right up, especially from the water. Because of this, they're extremely good for photos! I would advise against touching frogs and other amphibians unnecessarily because of their sensitive skin and our tendency to carry diseases they are susceptible to. Luckily, these guys don't need to be moved anywhere!
Leaf Beetle (Sumitrosis inaequalis), taken April 19, 2025, in Georgia, US
A little leaf beetle! These guys are quite interesting and from afar look like weevils because of their pattern. Adult leaf beetles lay their eggs inside the leaves of host plants. Larvae then hatch and "mine" their way through the interior layers of the leaf, forming a pale, dried trail throughout the leaf. Larvae then pupate and, upon emergence, chew their way out of the leaf and fly away in search of a mate!
Toothy Skink (Genus Plestiodon), taken April 18, 2025, in Georgia, US
A cute skink licking its lips after snacking on a tasty worm! I happened to look out the window while preparing to go outside just in time to see this lizard eating a big worm on the bank of my koi pond. After eating, it slowly slunk away into the grass. Despite there being lots of worms, this is a bit of a dangerous place to hunt, seeing as a watersnake is currently living at the pond!
They stopped after I took this photo, I embarrassed them
🪲ID Guess: I-Mark Leaf Beetle (Calomela crassicornis) 🌿Date: 25/01/2025
Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis), nymph, taken April 19, 2025, in Georgia, US
My first mantis of the year! I just happened to see this guy parkouring away from me while I was focused on a damselfly. I had to lose the damselfly, but it was worth it since mantises are rarer! Chinese Mantises are quite controversial insects, since it is unsure whether they are an invasive species or a non-native naturalized one due to lack of definitive evidence. Many people destroy chinese mantis oothecas and kill the insects on sight, but I am much more partial to letting them live. I have seen several people claim that they are bad because they kill hummingbirds and other pollinators, while I have witnessed more carolina mantises doing this than chinese! My area is not very plagued by chinese mantises, with me seeing only 2 chinese vs. 7 carolina last year, and none vs. 5 carolina in 2023. It's an interesting debate, but chinese mantises have been in the US for over a century. If they aren't already, they're likely getting to the point of naturalization soon.
Rufous-backed Cellophane Bee (Colletes thoracicus), female, taken April 19, 2025, in Georgia, US
The best photo I've gotten so far of one of the most frustrating subjects. There are currently hundreds of cellophane bees swarming in an area of my woods. New adults are emerging and in the process of recreating all of their parents' nest holes. Many would disagree, but there's something calming about sitting in the center of hundreds of buzzing bees, especially when you know they won't hurt you! The only bad thing about these guys is that they hate to sit still. Any time they land to inspect a prospective nest site, they do so fleetingly. There are so many bees that many are willing to fight for good spots, and males are simultaneously trying to mate with females that land for too long. It's chaos, but the welcome kind!
Made awkward eye contact with an Osprey flying overhead today
when u are holding a hammer everything looks like a nail -> when u are holding a point and shoot camera every sight looks incomparably ephemerally beautiful
Metric Paper Wasp (Polistes metricus), taken April 18, 2025, in Georgia, US
A beautiful, sleek wasp in the afternoon sun! This individual was an extremely good sport and let me get in very close for photos! Typically, paper wasps are a bit skittish and prefer to keep their distance, but this one just seemed curious. It's always a good day when a wasp stops buzzing around and lets me get some nice pictures! They're usually so busy that it's impossible to get anything!
Eastern Calligrapher (Toxomerus geminatus), female, taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US
A nice hoverfly perching on a flower. While hoverflies are out year-round here, they're in full swing now! Along with dozens of adults, I've started to see larvae too! The larvae of many hoverflies (though not all) feed on small invertebrates, aphids being a favorite of some (aptly named "Aphideaters"). As adults, many become herbivores, feeding on plant nectar. This is the same strategy most insects employ. It's much easier to survive if adults and babies of the same species eat different things at different life stages—less competition!
What they don’t tell you about getting into bird watching is that once you get into it, you do not get to decide when you bird watch. You can be on the beach of some distant tropical country with nothing planned except relaxing. But then you see a Common Fluttering Nut Buster and you’re like fuckkkkkkkk holy shit guys the Common Fluttering Nut Buster is not supposed to life this far west holy shitttttttttt
Crab Spiders (Genus Mecaphesa), taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US
Some crab spiders hiding underneath flowers! This is a known undescribed species, currently labeled "black tibia spot" (for obvious reasons) as far as I know. I see them pretty often hanging out, especially on fleabane flowers like this. Crab spiders are ambush predators, and most in the genus Mecaphesa lie in wait on similarly-colored flowers until a prey item (flies, beetles, and perhaps small bees) lands on it. The spider quickly overtakes its prey and hides underneath the petals of the flower to enjoy. A rather boring life for us, but these guys don't seem to mind!
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!
Turquoise Bluets (Enallagma divagans), teneral (top) and adult (bottom), taken April 13, 2025, in Georgia, US
A couple lifer damselflies from yesterday! I actually initially thought they were different species because I didn't see the black stripe on the top individual immediately. The difference in their coloration is due to the top individual being teneral, a term referring to any arthropod who has recently molted and not had time to harden their exoskeleton. In almost every case, teneral individuals are much paler than more developed ones. In comparison to the fully-formed adult below it, this damselfly is nearly colorless! You can see some blue beginning to develop, but it's mostly metallic brown and lacks black venation on the wings. Soon, its new exoskeleton will dry, and it will be beautiful and blue like the others!
Still a bit too early in the year for my mothing sheet to be as busy as I'd like, but I've still gotten a handful of interesting visitors
Ichneumonid Wasps(Family Ichneumonidae), Genus Raphia Ornate Tiger Moth(Apantesis ornata), Genus Eteobalea Genus Cameraria, White-lined Sphinx(Hyles lineata) Marbled Oak Dagger(Acronicta marmorata), Leaf Blotch Miner Moths(Family Gracillariidae) Two-spotted Leafhopper(Sophonia orientalis), Zale Moths(Genus Zale)
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!
Chalcid Wasp (Brasema rhadinosa), female, taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US
Feast your eyes on some (okay-ish) pictures of this gorgeous woman!! She was quite the pain to photograph because she would not sit still ever. She did, however, stay wandering around the top of the same boardwalk post for 3 hours. I have no idea why, but she clearly liked that spot. It ended up being helpful because it allowed me to spend as much time as I needed trying to get decent pictures. A wasp as thin and flat as she is sucks to get in focus, but the effort was worth it! The pictures don't do her justice, but you can still see how pretty she is!
Coppery Leafhopper (Jikradia olitoria), nymph, taken April 12, 2025, in Georgia, US
A teeny leafhopper nymph on a flower stem! My favorite leafhopper species is finally returning for the year! I can't wait for these nymphs to grow larger and gain their bright colors. The ones in this area tend to be orange and green, though nymphs of this species are highly variable, also coming in yellow, tan, brown, black, red, and white. All young nymphs look like this individual, being very dark brown and, in later instars, gain their unique colors!
Stone Centipede (Order Lithobiomorpha), taken March 19, 2025, in Georgia, US
A lovely, striped stone centipede! I found this one while stripping bark off of pine trees and got what is probably my best picture of one of these guys yet. Stone centipedes (and most centipedes, honestly) tend to flee as soon as they're uncovered, so they're very hard to photograph. This guy, however, sat very still for me! What a polite individual!
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), taken March 9, 2025, in Georgia, US
I haven't been out in a few days, so have this month-old mockingbird lol. There's something about the composition of this photo that is just really nice. I love the lighting, and the way the mockingbird kind of blends into the background is visually appealing! This specific pair has made a nest in a tree next to my house, so we may get to see babies at the feeders this spring!
Wedgling Moth (Galgula partita), taken April 4, 2025, in Georgia, US
A small moth hidden in the leaves! This guy was super skittish, and I spent a couple minutes just chasing him around before I was able to get any pictures. More skittish flying insects like moths and grasshoppers have to be approached a certain way to minimize the chances of them fleeing, and that requires knowing exactly where they are before you get in startle range. Sometimes I have to purposefully make a moth or grasshopper fly a couple times before I finally see where they land and can approach correctly. This guy was a little difficult, but not the worst I've had to deal with!
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.