This particularly ugly fly is a member of the tachinid fly family. It deposits or injects its eggs into a living host insect, which, as the egg develops, eats the…
Centipedes, with their multitude of legs and other long appendages are scary looking creatures. They move with amazing speed but are not harmful to humans. In fact, since their diet…
These insects are beneficial to humans because they eat corn pollen and thus pollinate corn. Some varieties are predators of aphids, which damage corn. They are not wasps (although they…
Giant Waterbug males carry the eggs (laid by the female) on their backs until the eggs hatch. They are very attentive fathers, while the females are off gallivanting around (see…
These are strikingly handsome beneficial insects. They feed on plant pests and pollen. Their scientific name (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) includes the (misspelled) “Pennsylvania” because of how the bug was first reported.
The heron in this picture landed on a mostly-frozen lake. However, the surface of the lake was more slush than ice, so the bird was slipping around and had to…
Honey bee in the center of a flower, collecting nectar and pollen. Look hard at this creature because they are disappearing, along with so many other insects. This is a…
Wasps are carnivores — they eat caterpillars, but they do drink nectar from flowers to quench their thirst and get energy. They are called “potter” wasps because many varieties build…
Note that some of the puffins in this group have their mouths full of fish, probably to feed their growing young. Puffins occupy the same ecological niche in the Arctic…
Sally Lightfoot Crabs, originally identified in the Galapagos Islands, look like a kind of insect, because they are in the same phylum as insects, Arthropoda, that is, animals with an…
Of course, this frog is not really smiling, though the angle and the shape of the mouth make it look that way. Still, most people who see this photo tend…
Spider Protecting Eggs — This spider is guarding its collection of eggs. It basically did not move for at least a week while protecting its future offspring. After the eggs…