Common Whitetail Skimmer – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data Female whitetail skimmers will release their fertilized eggs into water, mud, or vegetation This is a common whitetail skimmer dragonfly photographed near the Zealand River in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. More specifically, this is a male dragonfly. How do the males differ visually from the females? Male […]
Orchard Orbweaver – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data The orchard orbweaver will suck this liquid out of the bite hole These ornate spiders are called orchard orbweavers. If you live in the eastern United States, this spider is one of the more commonly seen spiders. They are found from Canada to Brazil. Technically, there are two almost identical […]
Echinacea – IUCN Conservation Status: Varies Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family Although flowers in the genus Echinacea are common across the United States, two of the nine species have been listed as endangered species. Thanks to strong recovery, one has been delisted, and the other is now only […]
Pixie Cup Lichen – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data The scientific name for pixie cup lichens is Cladonia asahinae The Cladonia genus of lichens, which includes the pixie up lichen seen here, is the primary food sources for reindeer and caribou! Pixie cup lichens are a species of cup lichen in the Cladoniaceae family. This […]
Monarch – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern The lifecycle of the monarch butterfly is complex The first thing that I noticed when I saw this beautiful monarch chrysalis were the rings of gold spots lining its exterior. I thought to myself, how in the world was this color created by an insect?! It actually comes […]
Great Egret – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Adult great egrets will have all white feathers This contorted creature is a great egret. This photograph was taken at Fort De Soto Park, just outside of St. Petersburg, Florida. The water in the background is the Gulf of Mexico. This great egret is using its long and flexible neck […]
Bluespine Unicornfish – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern In Hawai’i the bluespine unicornfish is known as “kala” The bluespine unicornfish can be found in the Indo-Pacific. Here it is pictured in the calm water off Poipu Beach on the island of Kauai in Hawai’i. It is also known by the common name, short-nose unicornfish. It […]
Carolina Mantis – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data There are more than 2,400 species across 460 genera and 33 families in the Mantodea order This photo was taken while walking about my backyard. I had just picked a few blackberries, and I was looking to see if I needed to prune the apple tree. That’s […]
Conspicuous Sea Cucumber – IUCN Conservation Status: Insufficient Data The conspicuous sea cucumber is a bottom feeder The conspicuous sea cucumber is a particularly weird looking sea cucumber. It can be found in abundance in the waters of Kaneohe Bay off the coast of Oahu, Hawai’i. Their local abundance is noted by a rarity throughout […]
Blue-fronted Dancer – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Blue-fronted dancers are a type of damselfly This wild winged creature is called a blue-fronted dancer. It is called a “dancer” because of how it flies. Notice the thin transparent wings. The blue-fronted dancer is a type of damselfly. Damselflies are smaller than dragonflies. The male blue-fronted dancers have a blue thorax […]