They Stopped After I Took This Photo, I Embarrassed Them

Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens), female, taken March 7, 2025, in Georgia, US

A woodpecker sitting like a perching bird for once in its life... These guys are so funny to watch, especially when they sit on the feeder perches and look around them, flinging their whole body in every direction to get all the best angles. It's quite impressive, honestly, even if they look ridiculous doing it!

Bristle Millipede (Genus Polyxenus), taken March 21, 2025, in Georgia, US

A tiny, spiky millipede! Despite this guy's small size, this is actually the largest bristle millipede I've seen. Usually I find juveniles, which just look like fluffy balls due to them having less segments. On this guy, however, you can see the individual rows of bristles lining each segment!

Scarlet-bordered Assassin Bug (Rhiginia cruciata), taken April 25, 2025, in Georgia, US

A bit of an interesting lifer! I've been seeing these guys flying around me, but they either would never land or would spook too fast to get a good look. Fortunately, this guy landed right in front of me and politely stood still while I did my best to get pictures as the sun glared onto my camera display and made it impossible to tell if my image was in focus or not (horrific). This species is part of a subfamily referred to as millipede assassin bugs which, as the name would imply, exclusively prey on millipedes. They have evolved to specialize in hunting millipedes, possessing unique venom, mouthparts, and other physical features that allow them an advantage over other predators when hunting them. They're quite interesting, and may be the culprits of some millipede husks you find while digging through leaflitter!

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!

I'm also in Georgia and my university has a herpetology club that does nature walks, I love seeing your renditions of the species we usually see!!

I'm glad you enjoy the little guys I find!! There are so many wonderful species here that don't get much attention because they're easy to miss. I'd love to include more herps in my selection, but I have horrible luck finding anything that isn't a toad!

Have an anole for the road, one of the few non-toad herps that I see somewhat regularly:

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!

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!

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), taken May 27, 2024, in Georgia, US

Just a beautiful, solid sparrow! The more I photograph them, the more I come to like sparrows. They're much more colorful than they seem from afar, and I love all of their intricate patterning! This individual sat very politely for me, what a champ.

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!

Oh!!! Freaking love these!! The jellybean is excellent, oh my god...

I ended up getting the raynox after we discussed it a little more on the post you made about it! The only time I've ever seen a cuckoo wasp was in New Hampshire, so I don't know if I'll get to try it out on one soon, but I honestly hope not because I have barely figured out how to get a medium-sized bee in focus regularly... I'll probably make a post with some pictures and my thoughts so far soon—I got some really nice ones of a nomad bee and some spiders today :)

I have no idea how you managed to get such nice focus on small things like springtails. I'm guessing it's partially use of flash (I just use the raw flash—no add-on for that yet so I'm avoiding using it with the raynox), but tips are definitely welcome if you're willing to provide any!

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