Brown Pelican – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern I’ve watched brown pelicans diving my entire life I absolutely love this photo because of the splash of water that you can see behind the brown pelican as it started to take off from the water. I don’t know which of us was more startled when I […]
FOWLER’S TOAD – IUCN Conservation Status: LEAST CONCERN Fowler’s toads have black and yellow eyes The photo of this fowler’s toad is courtesy of my dog, Landon. While Jill and I were hiking at Indian and Celina Lakes in southern Indiana, this little frog caught the eye of our dog. Once the frog stopped hopping, […]
Plains Lubber Grasshopper – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data Grasshoppers have 5 eyes! Matt, Kenny, Nick, and I were descending from Emory Peak in Big Bend National Park when we came across this plains lubber grasshopper. We were at the end of a long hot hike, and we were all pretty low on energy. I […]
Chalk-fronted Corporal Dragonfly – IUCN Conservation Status: LEAST CONCERN Each eye has up to 30,000 facets! I took this photo the day before my birthday in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Matt and I were camping there enjoying the beginning of summer. We had been out on a loop hike through the park when we came […]
Best Viewed in Landscape Orientation In the morning, there was frost and ice on our sleeping bags and on the inside of the tent This photo was taken on the second longest hike of my life. Matt and I did the triple Mount Bond summit hike. This involves going up Bondcliff, Mount Bond, and West […]
Bald Cypress – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern This uncanny tree also gets the nickname “eternal wood” I am not always one to take landscape photography; however, there are a few scenarios that I am almost guaranteed to snap a landscape shot: on top of a mountain and when watching the sun on the horizon. […]
Ocotillo – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern The foreground has spherical rocks and ocotillo. I waited as long as I could, but I knew that I would want to share a photo from my trip with Matt, Nick, and Kenny to Big Bend National Park as soon as possible. I took this landscape photo on […]
WHEEL BUG – IUCN Conservation Status: INSUFFICIENT DATA They sink their proboscis into the prey and inject a paralyzing enzyme This photo is of wheel bug nymphs in the first instar stages. They go through five instar stages before becoming adults. Here, they can be seen with the egg cases that they hatch from in […]
HEMLOCK VARNISH SHELF – IUCN Conservation Status: INSUFFICIENT DATA This is a large hemlock varnish shelf! This photo is of a hemlock varnish shelf mushroom. The scientific name of this mushroom is Ganoderma tsugae. The scientific name comes from the Greek word ganos, which means “brightness”, and derma, which means “skin”. The scientific name further […]
WOLF SPIDER – IUCN Conservation Status: INSUFFICIENT DATA They lay more than 100 eggs Have you ever seen a spookier looking insect?! This wolf spider is carrying its recently hatched young on its back! When I first saw this spider on the trail at Indian and Celina Lakes in southern Indiana, I thought I was […]