Lmst

Chris Nelsonchrisnelsonsdog@mstdn.social

2026-02-12

A very well fed red mite crawling on a gray log. It's abdomen is a deep red, which fades towards the tips of its extremities. The tips of its back leg are almost white.

Bee butt!!

Common eastern bumblebee (𝘉𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴) exploring obedient plant (𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢) flowers, from last august:

#InsectThursday #BeeButt #BloomScrollingWithBee #bumblebee #bees #hymenoptera #BloomScrollingWIthInsect #insects

The rear end of a bumblebee sticking out of one of a cluster of tubular pink flowers.

Adorable fuzzy black and yellow bumblebee investigating a cluster of tubular pink flowers.

Asian lady beetle (𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘹𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘴) hiding away on a big leaf, from the Wiley Trails last June. 🐞

(Posting a bit early locally for #InsectThursday since I'm working in the morning, but as I always say, it's Thursday somewhere.)

#ladybug #beetles #coleoptera #insects

A little ladybug, red with many black spots, is nestled in a much bigger green leaf.

Twice-stabbed stink bug (𝘊𝘰𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢) cozied up inside an obedient plant (𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢) flower, from August:

#InsectThursday #BloomScrollingWIthInsect #Hemiptera #insects

A tiny black insect with red lines crossing in a "t" shape on its back, hiding away inside one of several tubular lavender-colored flowers. If you look carefully, you might spot another insect tucked away inside the flower behind the first.

There was still a goldenrod (𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘰 sp.) in flower at our last Thompson Park hike, and it had a little eastern bumblebee (𝘉𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴) friend:

(Check out the proboscis!)

#BloomScrollingWithBee #InsectThursday #ItsThursdaySomewhere #bumblebee #bees #apidae #hymenoptera #insects

A bumblebee, black and fuzzy yellow and filigree wings. Look closely and you can see its little yellow mustache and its proboscis probing the bright yellow flowers of a goldenrod.

Ground cricket (family Trigonidiidae) on a common mullein (𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴𝘶𝘴) leaf, from Thompson Park:

#InsectThursday #cricket #orthoptera #insects

Closeup of a little black cricket on a green leaf covered with pale fuzziness.

You can't tell from the picture, but this woolly bear (𝘗𝘺𝘳𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢) was a speedster (for a caterpillar), zipping across the sidewalk faster than any I'd seen before:

#InsectThursday #caterpillar #WoollyBear #lepidoptera #insects

Closeup of a woolly bear (a cute little fuzzy caterpillar in shades of black and brownish orange) on the sidewalk.

Porcelain gray (𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢), from the Wiley Trails:

#InsectThursday #PapillonPaparazzi #geometer #moth #lepidoptera #insects

Closeup of a little gray moth with dark markings perched on leaves amidst grass and a few drops of dew.

This friendly little citrus flatid planthopper (𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘧𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘢) landed on my arm and communed a while during our hike on the Wiley Trails yesterday:

#InsectThursday #planthopper #Hemiptera #insects

Closeup of a cute tiny insect, mottled pale with dark spots and gray with white spots, perched on my arm.

There she is. Dressed in green. In all her glory. The Queen 👑 #InsectThursday 🐝 📍Tim Regan's bees in Killarney #Kerry 📸me #nature #photography #bees #honey #apiary #Ireland #autumn

Just bumbling through the day...

#entomology
#insectthursday
#bumblebee
#nature
#photography

We were looking at the wildflowers in front of the house today when I felt something crawling on my leg. I reached down to brush it off but stopped just in time when I saw it was this adorable little eastern bumblebee (𝘉𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘴). The bee crawled down onto my sneaker and proceeded to groom itself, very chill, before eventually crawling down into the grass.

#BeeBuddy #bumblebee #bee #hymenoptera #insects #InsectThursday

Closeup of a cute little fuzzy yellow and black bumblebee perched on the back of a blue sneaker. You can just see the beginning of the cat motif on the sneaker's side, and a sliver of purple sock and bare leg.

Japanese beetle (𝘗𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘫𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢) on pokeweed (𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘢 𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘢), from Thompson Park:

#InsectThursday #beetle #scarab #Scarabaeidae #coleoptera #insects

A shiny metallic beetle, dark green but with coppery colored wings behind which are many little white spots like teeny weeny cotton balls. The beetle is perched on one lime colored leaf amongst several, with a conical cluster of developing flower buds in the background.

The girl can dance! 💃 The worker bees' waggle dance, telling the others where pollen & nectar can be found Can you spot her? #InsectThursday #joy 💫 📽 #Killarney #Kerry #bees #nature #communication #hive #dancing

Something poignantly beautiful about flying until your wings fall apart and then flying some more. #Butterfly #Insects #InsectThursday

A closeup of a tattered monarch butterfly resting on a cluster of closed flower buds among pale green foliage. The monarch is a large butterfly with deep orange wings veined in black with delicate white spots along the scalloped fringes. The monarch is missing half of its right wing, and the tip of its left wing is also battered to near translucence. Nevertheless, I watched it fly away after I took this photograph.

A closeup of a mourning cloak butterfly resting head-down on the striated grey bark of an elm tree. The butterfly is a deep maroon that appears nearly black, with scalloped white edges along its wings and a border of iridescent blue spots between the white and black portions. The edges of its wings are very tattered and worn, I took this photograph in early spring and this butterfly would have just arrived after migration.

A bee working the heather in the Wicklow mountains last w/e 💜 In folklore it was said that bees sought out heather-laden areas, knowing that it made especially flavoursome honey ✨️🐝💫 #insectthursday #folklorethursday #nature #photography #hiking #spéirghorm #wildflowers #pollination #ireland

Two for #Insectthursday

Small skipper Thymelicus sylvestris
and a collection of Red Admirals Vanessa atalanta, Peacocks Aglais io and a Painted lady Vanessa cardui on some knapweed.