iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

This is male #Polyphemus #moth, #Antheraea polyphemus (Family #Saturniidae). The feathery "plumose" #antennae are adapted for the detection of female #pheromone at low concentrations. If detected, males engage in upwind flight following the concentration gradient to the waiting female. #Lepidoptera

Head-on "face" view of a predominantly rusty-brown colored, male Polyphemus moth with large feathery antennae spread wide on either side of the head. The insect is resting on a tree branch that is speckled with patches of lichen.

Male Polyphemus moth with large feathery antennae and pinkish-brown wings with prominent eyespots on the fore- and hindwings, resting on a leafless tree branch

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

“Spy vs. Spy, Assassin #bug vs. Soldier bug" I didn’t see how one stealthy #predator caught the other, but the outcome was photogenic. Perhaps declining Autumn numbers of #caterpillars & other small prey make this inevitable? #Reduviidae #Podisus #Hemiptera [Champaign Co., Ill. USA. 14 Oct 2025]

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

“Girl with kaleidoscope eyes” #Coelioxys sp. #Cuckoo #leafcutter #bees parasitize the nests of leafcutter bees by invading & laying their eggs inside that will kill the leafcutter larvae & then eat their store of nectar & pollen. This female was chilling on an aster in my garden.

Big-eyed black bee with dark red legs, amber wings, white body stripes and other markings resting on a closed aster flower against a black background.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

Red-headed beauty! I found this walking #stick #insect (#Orthonecrosia sp.) on at the Jungle Girl Entomology Camp at Trus Madi, Malaysia on Borneo in March 2025. Borneo is amazing, an island of wonder & stick insects! There are currently about 400 described Borneo species of stick insects.

Green-blue colored stick insect with a red head resting horizontally on a piece of bark-less wood in a forest against a black background.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

“Who’s in charge now?” If asked, I’d affirm the wheel bug, #Arilus cristatus, as the top predator in my yard. A recent encounter w/ one of the many cross #orbweavers, #Neoscona crucifera, in my yard reminded me that the tables can, and do, turn. #Arachtober #spider #Reduviidae #Araneidae #arachnid

A large tan-colored, orb-weaving spider with red legs is struggling with a partially silk-wrapped wheel bug. They are dangling in a tattered web against a black background

A large tan-colored, orb-weaving spider with red legs is struggling with a partially silk-wrapped wheel bug. From this angle, the spider is almost completely eclipsed by the struggling wheel bug. They are dangling in a tattered web against a black background.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

I've been following the "progress" of this little (<1 cm) #inchworm #caterpillar for a couple of days. It is wearing a trio of #ectoparasitic wasp larvae (in Family #Chalcididae). They're siphoning the caterpillar's blood & bodily fluids. It'll die soon & they will form pupae near the cadaver.

Brown inchworm caterpillar perched on a nearly vertical green leaf petiole against a black background. Three creamy orange parasitic wasp larvae, each approximately the size of the caterpillar's head, are attached to the caterpillar's back.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Three’s a crowd! The wheel bugs (#Arilus cristatus) in my garden seem confused about how many individuals are needed to start a family. They worked it out about an hour after my photos and the “third wheel” hit the road. #Reduviidae #AssassinBug [Champaign County, Illinois. USA. 19 September 2025]

An amorous trio of two males and 1 female gray-colored wheel bugs with red antennae and beaks hang together off of the left side of a brown and dried purple coneflower against a black background.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

This afternoon, a group of #migrants on their way to Mexico stopped in my yard to grab a bite and rest. They are staying the night. I count 64 lodgers tonight. On Saturday evening, I had 142! #butterflies #monarchseason #monarch.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Though they were vastly out-numbered by #monarchs, painted lady #butterflies, were still showing off as they completed for opportunities to sample the floral delights offered up by the Liatris blossoms. #Colias.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Days like today, when the yard is full of butterflies, remind me why I planted and tend my gardens of prairie plants. [Champaign County, IL. 13 September 2025]

Orange, white and black monarch butterfly is perched on the top of a taco-shaped, purple blazing star flower with a small alfalfa butterfly lurking over the edge below. Image is set against a field of green foliage and out of focus grass stems.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

I returned home from work tonight to find a collection of #monarch butterfly wings within and beneath a blazing star plant next to my driveway. Then I noticed the culprit, a giant #Chinese #mantid! The mantid was caught for relocation...to a student insect collection! #invasive

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

"I'm an #inchworm caterpillar, but I identify as stick." When disturbed, some #Geometridae family #caterpillars will straighten out in a stick-like posture to avoid detection. It's an effective form of #crypsis even the color/texture doesn't match well. [Champaign County, IL. USA. 5 September 2025]

Tan-colored smooth caterpillar with a few bumps and dark specks gripped onto a vertical stem with its rear prolegs, extending out stick-like in a straight, rigid posture against a dark background.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Have you ever seen a #pelecinid #wasp? Well, you have now! Say "Hello" to #Pelecinus polyturator. Their larvae live as internal parasites of wood or ground dwelling scarab beetle larvae. Until 3 weeks ago, I'd only ever seen 1 individual. Since then, I've seen a dozen females.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

That look! A #katydid leans in to ask, “I can’t hear you with all the tree-cricket racket, can you talk into my ear?” Conveniently, katydid #ears are located on their prothorasic legs, just below the "knee". Can you see them? #insect

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Hanging around or hanging on! A nightwalk revealed #insects exploited by other #arthropods. Doomed big & little Paw Paw #sphinx #caterpillars parasitized by #braconid wasps, an #inchworm bearing more #wasp #cocoons, & a crane fly #Über allowing 2 #pseudoscorpions to hitch a ride (called #phoresy)

A luminous green caterpillar with a spiky tail horn is covered with the cocoons of parasitic wasps that have fed internally before emerging and spilling a cocoon attached to their host's back. Openings near the tops of the cocoons reveal that the adult wasps have emerged.

A brown inchworm caterpillar grips a leaf with its rear legs while a silken thread supports the head as it hangs upside-down. Half-a-dozen parasitic wasp cocoons dangle from the back of the caterpillar.

A crane fly with banded brown/tan banded legs and a yellow abdomen dangles from the leaf of a forest plant. Pseudoscorpions are attached near a joint on one meso- and one metathorasic leg. They use the fly to harmlessly carry them over the landscape (this phenomenon is called Phoresy).

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Singularly fantastic & uncommon #arachnid. #Orsima ichneumon, the kaleidoscope #ant #mimic #spider #Salticidae, is found in SE Asia. This female was shadowing an ant while patrolling a leaf @ Trus Madi Jungle Girl Entomology Camp. #Sabah #Borneo. It has fewer than 50 records at #iNaturalist

Stout-bodied multicolored jumping spider with an abdominal constriction and elongate spinnerets that resemble the head and thorax of an ant or wasp. It rests on a green leaf surface marked with some silk this individual was spreading the surface.

Stout-bodied multicolored jumping spider staring up and to the left of the viewer exposing ruby-red chelicerae. This species has an abdominal constriction and elongate spinnerets that resemble the head and thorax of an ant or wasp. It rests near the edge of a green leaf surface.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

"Move along. Nothing to see here. Just a leaf." Checkered-fringe #prominent #caterpillars (#Schizura unicornis, Family #Notodontidae) tuck themselves into the gaps they create while feeding to disguise interrupted leaf outlines that might give them away to a predator.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

If you have Paw Paw trees, it's likely a good time to see caterpillars of the Pawpaw Sphinx Moth - Dolba hyloeus. I saw ≥30 at various developmental stages last night (8/15) in an east-central Illinois forest. Two weeks ago they were only 1/2 as abundant.

Green caterpillar bearing six diagonal white and dark stripes, the final posterior strips seems to continue and culminate in a bluish-green "horn". The caterpillar is hanging from the underside of a Paw Paw leaf.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

“Don’t go far!” Tiny, newly-emerged nymphs of the green stinkbug (Acrosternum hilare) congregate next to their eggs. They will soon disperse and begin to feed. There are 5 immature stages before becoming winged adults.

Newly-emerged orange and black stink bugs clustered tightly together next to their empty barrel-shaped, white eggs on a green leaf.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

#Predator & Emperor of my garden, #Arilus cristatus, the wheel bug (Family #Reduviidae), prowls the vegetation looking for a meal!

Large gray wheel bug perched on a goldenrod stem with its red antennae extended outward to the left. A cog-like extension rises from thorax, this wheel is the source of the common name.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

#Spider #mating or a midnight snack? There's both a male & a female orbweaver (perhaps #Neoscona crucifera) in there. I think it's more #marriage than mealtime mayhem as they were suspended from a single silken strand.

Male and female orbweaver spiders with brown/orange bodies covered with a fringe of spiky hairs embrace while hanging from a single silken strand against a dark background.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

A dark morph of the #tiger #swallowtail, #Papilio #glaucus, was also nectaring on whorled #milkweed. I snapped photos of the top & underside of the wings. [Champaign County, Illinois, USA. 9 August 2025]

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Coming in for a landing! Black #swallowtail #butterflies, #Papilio #polyxenes, approaching & landing to nectar on whorled #milkweed, #Asclepias verticillate, in central #Illinois, #USA

Butterfly in flight above whorled milkweed plants with black forewings marked on the underside with one row each of yellow triangles and circles near the trailing wing margin. The hind wing also bears two parallel rows of yellow marks, but with intervening blue polygons and conspicuious tails. The body is also black with yellow spots along the side of the abdomen.

Butterfly in flight approaching a whorled milkweed plant in bloom with black forewings marked on the underside with one row each of yellow triangles and circles near the trailing wing margin. The hind wing also bears two parallel rows of yellow marks, but with intervening blue polygons and conspicuious tails. The body is also black with yellow spots along the side of the abdomen.

Butterfly in flight just before contacting a whorled milkweed plant with black forewings marked on the underside with one row each of yellow triangles and circles near the trailing wing margin. The hind wing also bears two parallel rows of yellow marks, but with intervening blue polygons and conspicuious tails. The body is also black with yellow spots along the side of the abdomen.

Butterfly resting on a whorled milkweed plant with black forewings marked on the underside with one row each of yellow triangles and circles near the trailing wing margin. The hind wing also bears two parallel rows of yellow marks, but with intervening blue polygons and conspicuious tails. The body is also black with yellow spots along the side of the abdomen.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

In the last fews days, my yard & the east-central Illinois area has been invaded by 100's of Hypena scabra, green cloverworm moths. They primarily feed on legumes including clover, alfalfa, soybeans, & garden beans. I suspect they're splatting my car when I drive through the area in the evening.

Brownish-orange moth with bulging dark-ruby colored eyes and prominent scaly legs resting vertically on the leaf of a goldenrod plant against a dark background.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

These boy bees are catching ZZZs! Melissodes bimaculata is in the same family as the honeybee, Apidae. The males roost together overnight on vegetation, while females stay in their individual nest holes in the ground.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Dinner for two! A pair of #Podisus stink bugs sharing a Virginia #ctenucha (Ctenucha virginica) is my favorite stink #bug #predation image. This gristly tableau yielded a number of photos because the evenly-matched bugs were doing a little “tug-of-war” over their shared #moth feast.

A pair of brown-and-tan speckledPodisus stink bugs simultaneously feeding on the same Virginia #ctenucha (Ctenucha virginica) moth near the edge of a green leaf.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

I think you hunt #ants! Every time I find this jumping #spider, #Tutelina elegans, with prey, it is an ant they are clutching. This adorable species is commonly found prowling among my milkweed plants & purple coneflowers. #Salticidae

Jumping spider with shimmering bronze abdomen, reflective yellow legs and palps, and dark attentive eyes looks past the viewer to left from its perch on a milkweed leaf.

Jumping spider with shimmering bronze abdomen, reflective yellow legs, & a matching shiny cephalothorax grasping its prey, a red-brown ant. The interaction is happening as the spider navigates the vertical portion of an upturned milkweed leaf.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

Three’s a crowd. Old fields surround #Illinois woods have been alive w/ the amorous blinking of #fireflies for weeks! I’m giving firefly #3 an “A” for enthusiasm, but there is inevitable disappointment in his future! #Lampyridae #macrophotography

Three amorous fireflies clustered on the edge of a vertical green leaf jockeying for position in a successful mating pair.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

From a woodland nightwalk. I love walking thru woods at night. We encounter surprising night creatures in the darkness. The nocturnal world is alive w/ #insects, like #katydids, #robberflies, pap paw #sphinx moth #caterpillars, and some #flies killed by #fungi!

Green female katydid insect perched atop on an angled leaf with its head bent forward to touch the base of the curved egglaying structure (called an ovipositor).

A very leggy, orange - brown - yellow robber fly with bulging green eyes, a shiny sharp-looking black proboscis, and hump-backed thorax with some black markings amidst the orange and yellow areas. The fly is perched on an angled green leaf.

A long light-green caterpillar with six angled white/dark diagonal lines on the side of its body, culminating in a greenish-blue horn arising from the end of the body. The caterpillar is stretched out along a paw pap leaf it is feeding from the right side.

A dead, khaki-brown colored fly with several rings of fungal conidia bursting throught the intersegmental membranes of the abdomen. The fly is perched on a narrow green leaf blade.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

Nighttime visitor. A male #polyphemus moth #Antheraea polyphemus, visited my yard last night. The caterpillars feed on #trees including #elm, #birch & #willow. I’ve reared them on #oak, #Quercus. Males have feathery #plumose #antennae used to locate females broadcasting #pheromones at night.

Large red-brown male Polyphemus, Family Saturniidae, moth with large feathery antennae and a fuzzy-looking stout body hanging from the base of a deep green bur oak leaf against a mostly dark background.

Close-up of the body and wing bases of a large red-brown male Polyphemus, Family Saturniidae, moth with large feathery antennae and a fuzzy-looking stout body hanging from the base of a deep green bur oak leaf against a mostly dark background.

Close-up of the underside of a male Polyphemus wing showing the yellow and black-outlined window in the forewing and several gradations of brownish-red or salmon-colored wingscales.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

A deadly embrace. #House #centipedes ( #Scutigera sp.) are fast-moving #predators common inside & outside homes where they consume #spiders & other #arthropods. They were abundant last evening and enjoying prey like #leafhoppers, spiders, & anything they could run down.

Multi-legged, tan and brown house centipede resting horizontally on a leaf.

Close-up of a house centipede positioned on the underside of a goldenrod leaf while grasping a green leafhopper with red eyes.

Close-up of a house centipede grasping an orb weaver spider while perched on the railing of a deck.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Western #corn #rootworm adults & pupa from #Illinois #CropSciences #Entomology research plots. #Beetles have been out for ca. 2 weeks. #WCR larval pressure looks very good at present. Great conditions to evaluate products. #Diabrotica #virgifera #Chrysomelidae #Coleoptera

Cream-colored coarctate pupae of a beetle resting on dark organic soil.

Yellow female western corn rootworm beetle perched at the tip of a corn leaf against dark background.

Yellow and black marked female western corn rootworm beetle resting on a green corn leaf .

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

I had the good fortune to stumble upon a wheel #bug nymph that was stalking an #earwig, with predictable results! #Predation #Reduviidae #Dermaptera

Spidery-legged assassin bug with mottled orange abdomen, dark legs, and a large fearsome proboscis resting on the underside of a leaf where an earwig is resting.

Spidery-legged assassin bug with mottled orange abdomen, dark legs, has reached around the leaf and stabbed the brown earwig with its proboscis.

Spidery-legged assassin bug with mottled orange abdomen, dark legs, and a large fearsome proboscis is climbing through down a leafy goldenrod stalk with the lifeless body of its ear wig prey dangling from its stout, orange proboscis.

Spidery-legged assassin bug with mottled orange abdomen, dark legs, climbing through down a leafy goldenrod stalk with the lifeless body of its ear wig prey dangling from its stout, orange proboscis.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

My #Lucky Shot! For 5 days, I chased #fireflies in my yard. I held the camera out in front, running behind an airborne #firefly, & clicked the shutter when I thought they were in focus. After many failures (kudos to my lack of depth perception), I got one that is close to being in good focus!

Firefly in flight from right to left across the image frame against a black background.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

They’re back! An assistant caught the 1st western #corn #rootworm of the season today on a Univ. of Illinois’ farm in Urbana, IL. Also saw 1st Japanese beetle. We were exploring an efficacy trial planted on a 2024 trap crop to enhance rootworm pressure. An early start? #WCR #UI

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Now just another link in the food chain. The black #swallowtail #caterpillar, #Papilio #polyxenes, that was feeding for >1 wk on my golden alexanders, #Zizia aurea, met its demise in the clutches of a crab #spider this evening. Caterpillars are “kibble” for many #predators.

Orange, white, and black-marked 2nd instar black swallowtail caterpillar with prominent spiny-tipped tubercles, dangling from the jaws of a brown crab spider.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

#Ant vs. jumping #spider. #Tutelina elegans won this #wrestling match staged on the leaf of a #coneflower. This diminutive jumper species w/ iridescent scales is common in fields & prairies. They put on a cool "leg-waving" courtship display. #salticidae

Silvery-green jumping spider with iridescent scales grips a larger, (and dead) mahogany-colored ant just behind its head while standing on a horizontal green leaf surface.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

“Doing the twist.” A 2nd instar black #swallowtail #caterpillar, #Papilio #polyxenes, dining on a golden alexanders, #Zizia aurea, #flower. The coming instars will give up their resemblance to bird droppings and become more green & harder to find in dense vegetation.

Orange, white, and black-marked 2nd instar black swallowtail caterpillar with prominent spiny-tipped tubercles twists its body around the green stem of a golden alexandar flower. Its head is at the top of the image.

Orange, white, and black-marked 2nd instar black swallowtail caterpillar with prominent spiny-tipped tubercles with its body arching on and over the green flower head of a post-flowering golden alexandar. Its head is at the top of the image.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

A black #swallowtail #caterpillar, #Papilio #polyxenes, has just molted to the 2nd instar on a golden alexanders, #Zizia aurea, flower. It's staring down what remains of it's old skin before consuming the rest.

Orange, white, and black-marked 2nd instar caterpillar with prominent spiny-tipped tubercles grips a green stem. It is facing the crumpled black and orange remnants of its 1st instar exoskeleton.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

...and What about a New World #Bee for World Bee Day! This is an #orchid bee from Amazonian #Ecuador, #Euglossa sp., #Euglossini, #Apidae, #Hymenoptera. It was photographed along a trail outside of Tena, #Ecuador in 2024. Look at the length of that tongue!

Shiny metalic green bee with its tongue, that is much longer than the length of its body, looping forward and then back under the body as it rests on a green leaf where a small true bug is also resting.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

Celebrate World Bee Day! From half-a-world-away, two carpenter #bees from #TrusMadi in #Sabah #Malaysia #Borneo. Both were photographed at a light trap at night. Blue carpenter bee, #Xylocopa tumida, and another carpenter bee, Xylocopa sp., perhaps X. myops (?). So Fuzzy!

Blue carpenter bee with crazy blue fur on the thorax and 1st abdominal segment, with translucent dark-amber colored wing and black eyes , antennae, legs and posterior abdomen. The bee clings to white fabric.

Rich amber colored carpenter bee with a thick fuzzy coat of dark orange hair on the thorax and legs and a lighter fringe of golden hairs on the abdomen. The wings are a translucent dark amber color. It clings to fabric and is joined there by a small dark midge.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Small, but “staphy-tacular”! This is #Belonuchus rufipennis, a rove #beetle (Family #Staphylinidae). These 5-9mm long beetles are reported in/on/from decaying plant materials in the eastern half of the US, this one seemed to be eating lichen on tree bark. New find in my yard!

Rove beetle with a black head, thorax and terminal pair of abdominal segments, with and otherwise rusty-red coloration, resting on gray tree bark that is speckled with yellow-green spots of lichen.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Busy #bees & others. Many different bee and wasp species were working my patch of #GoldenAlexanders, #Zizia aurea (L.). Honeybees, yellow jackets, thread-waisted-, paper-, & potter wasps. The air was alive with comings and goings and sweetened by the subtle fragrance of the #Apiaceae blooms.

Honeybee flying up toward the butter-colored bloom of a golden alexanders against a diffuse green and yellow background.

Yellow jacket coming in for a landing on the yellow blossom of a Goldem Alexandars with legs splayed open against a mottled green background.

Dark black, thread-waisted wasp airborne over the top of a yellow Golden Alexandars bloom that it has just departed against a multicolored green and tan background of mixed vegetation.

Brown and red-colored Polistes wasp resting on a Golden Alexandars is harassed by a smaller passing black potter wasp that is pouncing on it's thorax. The potter wasp has three rings or bands of white the encircle the abdomen near the midpoint.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Pollen covered #ants look like they may be inadvertantly pollinating my Golden Alexanders, #Zizia aurea (L.). Unfortunately, they may also be happy to eat any black swallowtail eggs/larvae that end up on this host plant! #Apiaceae (Carrot Family)

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Fantastic head gear! #Cyriopalus wallacei is a species of #longhorn #beetle, named in honor of Alfred Russell #Wallace. This individual came to lights at #TrusMadi Jungle Girl Entomology Camp #Sabah #Borneo #Malaysia

Large long-horned beetle perched on the side of a mottled brown tree branch holding its wide, branched antennae outward on either side of its head.

Large red-brown long-horned beetle resting on the white fabric of a light trap with its long and elaborately branched antennae splayed to the right and left. The antennae are nearly as long as the beetle's body.

Large red-brown long-horned beetle resting on a tree branch , the beetles fantastically branched antennae extend to the left of the image, they are nearly as long as the beetle's body.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Spectacular spines. I believe this is the #caterpillar of a #Baron #Nymphalidae #butterfly in the genus #Euthalia. Believe it or not – this is a very #cryptic look. Nearly walked by this on a leaf next to a drizzling nighttime trail at Mt #Kinabalu National Park #Borneo #Sabah #Malaysia

Green caterpillar with dorsal strip of white spots whose long body is surrounded with long light-green spined projections radiating outward like a sharp skirt from front, back, right, left and everywhere in between. Caterpillar is resting in alignment with the long axis of a leaf from which it has nibbled away the upper left quadrant.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Among Earth’s largest #moths. #Atlas moths, #Attacus atlas, Family #Saturniidae, may have wings spanning >9”. The wingtips look like #snakes ready to strike! The huge 1” diameter #caterpillars sport a waxy coating resembling (mimicking?) #Cordyceps infected larvae. #Borneo #TrusMadi #Sabah #Malaysia

Very large and broad silk moth with rusty red-orange antennae and wings marked with reflective white triangles and downward-curving wingtips resembling a matched pair of snakes each with one intense black eye. Resting on fern-like forest vegetation.

An intermediate-sized caterpillar of the atlas moth gripping the lower edge of a leaf. The caterpillar’s body is mostly shrouded in a coarse waxy coat, including the eight fleshy dorsal lobes. The un-waxy head is a greenish turquoise while the last segment with prolegs bears a tangerine spot of color.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Stick insect Island. #Borneo is home of 10% of Earth’s #StickInsect species; it’s the best place to see them. The green, purple & red of #Orthonecroscia keatsooni #Lonchodidae make it unforgettable. #Phasmids were readily found in the #rainforest at night w/ flashlights. #TrusMadi #Sabah #Malaysia

A stick insect with stubby bright red forewings and purple hindwings that match the purple color of the thorax. The darker tip of the purple abdomen of this male stick insects bears two lateral cerci, that are also purple. The sides of the insects are bright green with faint darker longitudinal stripes. The eyes are dark and the top of the head is purple. The spindly legs and the antennae are all marked with alternating green and purple bands. The insect is resting on a green leaf against a darker forest background.

Close-up view of the left side of the stick insect resting on a leaf. The bold green and purple color scheme and the stark splash of red from the first pair of wings make this an attention-grabbing creature. Small patches of yellow around the head enhance the contrast the color scheme. The alternating green and purple banding on the legs is especially evident.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Leave those stalks! Why do I leave many old stalks in my #garden? They become homes and/or nurseries for the next generations of #bees, #beetles, #ants and untold legions of others that will “run your garden”! All of these were in old #coneflower stalks.

Several small orange-red ants in and around the opening of a broken-off coneflower stalk in the center of the image surrounded by a mottle green and black background.

A tiny brown beetle with striated elytra sculpturing resting on the pithy center of a broken-off coneflower stalk. A previously-excavated central hole is located in the center of the broken stalk.

Irridescent green bee is head-first into a hole in the pith of a broken cone-flower stalk that is it excavating.

A pair of tiny orange ants resting at the opening to a tunnel excavated in the foamy pith at the center of a broke-off coneflower stalk.

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Joseph Spencer @talkingrootworm.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Baby Mama #Beetle. #Trilobite beetles are in #Lycenidae (net-winged beetles). Females are odd because they never #metamorphose to adults, they retain larval looks, but are sexually mature; males are typical lycenids. The orange #Platerodrilus sp. is localized to Mt. #Kinabalu in #Sabah, #Malaysia.

Dramatically bold colored larviform female trilobite beetle with a dark brown body with orange spiky appendages and a pair of orange bumps on the abdominal segments, and broad orange margins and four orange bumps on each of the three thoracic segments. This individual is resting on a green and brown mossy leaf.

Dramatically bold colored female larviform trilobite beetle with a dark brown body with orange spiky appendages and a pair of orange bumps on the abdominal segments, and broad orange margins and four orange bumps on each of the three thoracic segments. This individual's tiny head is visible as it faces the observer

Tan-colored larviform female trilobite beetle with a dark brown body with a faint thin light-brown margin around the thoracic segments and light brown spiky appendages on the abdominal segments. It is resting on a dark piece of wood.

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