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Reposting for the new thread. The other night I had a nice treat. My old man spotted a cicada molting on the leaf of a decorative plant. I had only seen it in person once before when I was little, so I fetched my camera gear. It was a great spot to set up on the tripod and really pull in close.    You can see both sets of wings folded alongside here.  Completely out. Wings starting to unfold and take shape.  Wings at full size. He/She stayed on the next leaf overnight, letting the exoskeleton harden. It took about 20 minutes from the start with just the head broken free to being completely molted. By the afternoon of the next day they were gone, off to start their adult life.
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Jul 26, 2021 20:29
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 08:11 |
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  Mantis enjoying a snack of a big fat ant. I believe she only has one forearm as well. I didn't have the guts to get up in her grill with my new macro lens. I love mantids, but daamn if they don't intimidate me as well.
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Aug 18, 2021 21:43
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Today a nature sanctuary in my city was doing a Monarch Festival. Unfortunately I didn't manage to take any pictures of monarchs, just sneaky Viceroy butterflies. Still cool, and a ton of other critters.  The sneaky Viceroys that fooled me into thinking they were monarchs.  Differential Grasshopper  Yellow Garden Spider  There were so many honeybees working the flowers out here. This was probably the most photogenic lady.  Cool blue dragonfly. These guys are a pain to ID.  Juvenile small milkweed bug. What a boring name, but a handsome bug.
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Sep 13, 2021 00:51
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Some recent pictures from around my house: Lovely Regal Jumping Spider. He was very camera shy, but finally came out. He would hide back in the window gap if I got any closer.  Robin trying to take a bath, with two voyeurs. I think the sparrows just liked getting splashed on.  House Wren working on a home. We have a pair that keep coming back every year to our yard.  Big Chongus Lady doing some work. I love how she has pollen literally all over herself.
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May 16, 2022 18:10
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 Saw this weird cat outside my house last night. He was an absolute unit, and gave not one single poo poo at having a flashlight shined on him. Just snacked on some fallen bird feed and waddled off.
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Mar 17, 2023 23:04
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 Orchard Spider, there's a few of these guys setting up in my shrubs over the past day. This one held still for a picture of the neon belly boomerang. A shame my focal distance is so narrow, but look at them...Grabby eaty bits. I forget the term.
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May 28, 2023 00:24
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 08:11 |
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 Candy Striped Leafhopper. They have other names, but that's my favorite one. Fine, Graphocephala coccinea.
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Jun 30, 2023 21:48
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