Northerlyy - Terminally Insane About Animals. It's Contagious.

Banded Snipe Flies (Chrysopilus fasciatus), males, taken May 26, 2024, in Georgia, US

What handsome flies! These guys only fly for about a month here, but I love to see them while they're in season! I've yet to see a female, but maybe someday I'll get lucky and see a pair breeding!

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), taken March 21, 2025, in Georgia, US

A lovely dove cooing into the evening sun. Someone was on the other end of their song, likely a partner, and I could hear them calling back. Not only is this dove's call very calming, but—when you can find them—they're interesting to watch while calling! You can see in the second photo this dove puffing its neck feathers up and tucking its head in to call. It was both holding a conversation and keeping an eye on me in case I got any closer—professional multitasking!

Leafhopper (Genus Gyponana), nymph, taken March 25, 2025, in Georgia, US

Sometimes life is just a leafhopper dancing... This guy was tiiiiny, probably only 1st or 2nd instar, and he was not a fan of me, as is evident by his defensive dancing! When threatened, leafhopper nymphs (and sometimes adults) will sway back and forth like this to both mimic windblown debris and skew a potential predator's perception of their form. Obviously, this has little effect on humans, but it can save their life if a smaller predator takes interest. Leafhoppers are wonderful animals, and this is one of the many reasons why they're some of my favorites!

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), male, taken February 25, 2025, in Georgia, US

Bald!!!!! The spring molt has taken him... Every spring all of the cardinals become bald, and it is both pathetic and wonderful. This guy has started a bit early, so he's the odd man out of the bunch until they all follow!

Conifer Bark Beetles (Boros unicolor), larvae, taken February 26, 2025, in Georgia, US

I spent like two hours running around peeling the bark off of fallen pine trunks and found tons of these bad boys. I had no idea that they existed or what they were until I found them, but they're kind of epic! They remind me of if a beetle and an earwig had a child, but a termite became involved somewhere along the way. Just a weird mixture of morphological traits, though they're perfectly adapted for life under pine bark!

You can see the individual in the video almost snag the smaller insect as a snack. I came across one shortly after this eating a potworm!

Velvetbean Caterpillar Moth (Anticarsia gemmatalis), taken September 28, 2024, in Georgia, US

Aside from Renia moths, these are some of the most common lepidopteran inhabitants of the leaflitter in my back woods! They're terrible to photograph because they startle when leaves crunch near them, so I always have to creep up on them really slowly. Even then, it sometimes takes several minutes for me to finally catch one! Despite their drab coloration, I still find them quite beautiful. They're perfectly made for forest floor life!

Domestic Cat (Felis catus), taken March 11, 2025, in Georgia, US

Random cat that lives in my neighborhood, probably a neighbor's. We have a few outdoor cats and strays that we see occasionally. This is the newest one. I almost poured water on it the night before because it was hiding in the shadows when I dumped aquarium water from my water change off the back deck! I apologized and clearly there's no hard feelings because it seemed very relaxed around me when I saw it again! Despite it roaming free, it's a really pretty cat!

Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), taken April 25, 2025, in Georgia, US

A silly little skink! Me and this lizard spent a few minutes sitting next to each other, him catching ants and me watching. This guy was quite small, likely still young, and it was fun to watch him scuttle around, looking under leaves for little bug morsels!

Tube-tailed Thrip (Genus Neurothrips), taken January 30, 2025, in Georgia, US

What a cool tiny beast!! I can't get over the fact that he wagged his little tail at me... So cute! In reality this guy is about 2 1/2mm long, so he's not very ferocious—unless you're a fungus! Most thrips, like this one, feed on fungus, but some are known to cause some damage to crops in large groups. I suspect this individual is N. magnafemoralis, but I don't know enough about thrips to be certain. The genus is certainly distinctive, however! Little boneless dinosaurs!