E (outdoor edition)

a photograph of a large sunflower bloom, with a honey bee gathering pollen from the center 🐝🌻

A sunny Western Honey Bee.

(11 July 2025 / McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area / Poolesville, Maryland, USA)

a photograph of a large sunflower bloom, with a honey bee gathering pollen from the center 🐝🌻

A sunny Western Honey Bee.

(11 July 2025 / McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area / Poolesville, Maryland, USA)

thank you! 💜

Clockwise from top left: broad-headed sharpshooter, red-banded leafhopper, potato leafhopper, versute sharpshooter, citrus flatid planthopper, Japanese maple leafhopper, coppery leafhopper, yellow-striped leafhopper.

Leafhoppers I’ve photographed in Washington DC this summer. 🐞

Assassin bug on leaf.

Washington DC wildlife:

Spined assassin bug this morning on Rodman Street. Definitely glad they’re tiny.

these lil guys were about 3/4" tall. they're super cute!

A tree swallow photographed from the side, with its head turned towards the photographer. The swallow sits atop a walking cane-shaped cattail flower. 🐦🪶

A watchful Tree Swallow (male) rests atop a cattail (also known as bulrush).

(1 June 2025 / Jug Bay Wetland Sanctuary / Lothian, Maryland, USA)

a close-up photograph of a small bunch of seven trooping crumble cap mushrooms growing out of soil and deciduous forest detritus. 🍄

Trooping Crumble Cap mushrooms, also known as Fairy Inkcap, have 143 mating types (the fungal equivalent of sexes). Each mating type can reproduce with members of any of the other 142 mating types!

These tiny troopers often carpet dead wood.

(14 July 2025 / Rock Creek Park / Washington, DC, USA)

we like our plants poisonous and our deer resisted!!!!!

a close up of bunches of swamp milkweed flowers, some in bloom and some simply buds

a monarch Butterfly caterpillar perched on the stem of a swamp milkweed plant 🐛

Swamp Milkweed in bloom, and a Monarch Butterfly caterpillar dining on it.

(21 July 25 / Huntley Meadows Park / Alexandria, Virginia, USA)

Larva with debris piled on its back.

Lichen-carrying green lacewing larva, yesterday in Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. TIL it camouflages itself by attaching bits of lichen, along with other debris, to its back. You can see its legs at the bottom and it was moving around at a good clip. 🐞

thank you! 💜

thank you! 💜

oh to be the hive master of the great dismal swamp, the actual dream

A tan and brown Fowler's toad on a grey log.

A super chill Fowler's toad that was hanging out on a log in the forest. A+ pal. 🐸

(21 July 2025 / Huntley Meadows Park / Alexandria, Virginia, USA)

Hang out in flowers, eat pollen, drink nectar, maintain round shape and be covered in fuzz...yep!

three old man of the woods mushrooms among deciduous forest floor detritus.

Old man (men?) of the woods. 🍄

(21 July 2025 / Huntley Meadows Park / Alexandria, Virginia, USA)

a common eastern bumble bee, absolutely covered in pollen granules, rests at the opening of a swamp rose mallow hibiscus flower

a common eastern bumble bee, absolutely covered in pollen granules, rests at the opening of a swamp rose mallow hibiscus flower and grooms itself

This common eastern bumble bee was absolutely lost in the swamp rose mallow pollen sauce, resting at the opening for a while, just snackin on pollen and grooming itself. 🐝🌺

(21 July 2025 / Huntley Meadows Park / Alexandria, Virginia, USA)

Frog close-up.

Washington DC wildlife:

Green frog last week in Linnean Park. 🐸

Stink bug with long yellow and black legs.

Washington DC wildlife:

Green stink bug yesterday on Rodman Street showing that it can be leggy. 🐞

me toooo! also, when I took this, Casey and I were both like "we have to show thistle this thistle!!"

a black and yellow fuzzy bee rests atop a puffy, light-purple thistle bloom. 🐝

Eastern Carpenter Bee grabbing a snack on some Wild Teasel.

(11 July 2025 / McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area / Poolesville, Maryland, USA)

thank you, vandy!! 🌻

a lone tall sunflower rises over a field of shorter sunflowers. an insect of some kind is just about to land on the flower. the sky in the background is blue with lots of white-grey clouds.

🌻 🐝

(11 July 2025 / McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area Sunflower Fields / Poolesville, Maryland, USA)

A moth that looks like a humming bird and a lobster had a baby.

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth
#moths #nature #photography

A Huron sachem, a small brown and tan butterfly, atop purple loosestrife buds.

A Huron sachem, a small brown and tan butterfly, atop a buttonbush bloom.

A Huron sachem, a small brown and tan butterfly, atop a green lotus pod.

A Huron sachem, a small brown and tan butterfly, atop a buttonbush bloom.

Huron sachem butterflies from this weekend. Plant IDs in alt text. 🦋

(4 & 6 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

A dragonfly sits perched on a dried reed. It has a blue tail that fades into a green abdomen and head.

Eastern Pondhawk
#dragonflies #nature #photography

it's a great time of year to go there! enjoy your trip 🪷

viewed through long green grass, a yellow-crowned night heron, a bird with a grey body, a long neck, and a black head with white on the top of its head and a white stripe under its large orange eyes, holds a crawfish in its long black beak

viewed through long green grass, a yellow-crowned night heron, a bird with a grey body, a long neck, and a black head with white on the top of its head and a white stripe under its large orange eyes, swallows a crawfish

Another yellow-crowned night heron crawfish feast. 🪶🦞

(6 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)

A yellow-crowned night heron, a bird with a grey body, a long neck, and a black head with white on the top of its head and a white stripe under its large orange eyes, holds a crawfish in its long black beak

A yellow-crowned night heron, a bird with a grey body, a long neck, and a black head with white on the top of its head and a white stripe under its large orange eyes, tosses a crawfish in the air before swallowing it.

A yellow-crowned night heron tossing back a crawfish snack whole. 🪶🦞

(4 July 2025 / Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens / Washington, DC, USA)