# Favourite Accidental Observation? **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [May 22, 2026, 4:12am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272 "2026-05-22T04:12:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clightowler](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/clightowler/32/35926_2.png) [@clightowler](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/clightowler)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 4:12am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/1 "2026-05-22T04:12:14Z")
Occasionally when I’m uploading my photos I find something that I hadn’t even realized was there when I took the photo. Usually it’s when I’ve photographed a flower and when I look closer I find a bug on it. During CNC I took a photo of a snail from a distance because it was in the middle of a wet area. I wasn’t even sure if the snail would be a good enough picture, but when I got it home it had a tiny mite on it. [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/354945122](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/354945122) What’s your favourite ‘accidental’ observation? ---
**Author:** ![benfh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/benfh/32/72461_2.png) [@benfh](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/benfh)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 4:32am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/2 "2026-05-22T04:32:09Z")
A visitor showed up behind this northern flicker [http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/359518188](http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/359518188) ---
**Author:** ![kanescompendium](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/kanescompendium/32/59120_2.png) [@kanescompendium](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/kanescompendium)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 4:59am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/3 "2026-05-22T04:59:05Z")
I was focusing on the [Mint](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/312373619) and didn’t notice the [Chironomid](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/312765846) until after looking through photos at home. One of the few times where I was genuinely shocked I missed an observation in situ. ---
**Author:** ![noah\_vale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/noah_vale/32/59920_2.png) [@noah\_vale](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/noah_vale)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 5:15am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/4 "2026-05-22T05:15:20Z")
I’ve gone to photograph native flowers on multiple occasions and unintentionally discovered a bunch of cool insects that way ---
**Author:** ![afdexter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/afdexter/32/51830_2.png) [@afdexter](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/afdexter)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 7:59am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/5 "2026-05-22T07:59:39Z")
I recently collected a dead mistletoe haustorium to dissect to understand the growth processes, but when I used a saw to trim it, I found an ant colony (_Colobopsis gasseri_) inside. Now I’m doing a crash course in ant-keeping. ---
**Author:** ![HappyBird44](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/happybird44/32/44103_2.png) [@HappyBird44](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/HappyBird44)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 8:45am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/6 "2026-05-22T08:45:33Z")
I get this sort of thing happen to me often, as I usually only focus on the subject. here is an example from last week, I photographed some aphids, but only later noticed there was this ant who was herding them: [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/359566426](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/359566426) and [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/359566427](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/359566427) But I think my favourite was this bee: [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/343493785](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/343493785) which had a parasite: [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/359568515](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/359568515) ---
**Author:** ![DianaStuder](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/dianastuder/32/43358_2.png) [@DianaStuder](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/DianaStuder)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 8:56am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/7 "2026-05-22T08:56:18Z")
My camera and I saw the flower. My laptop found [shimmery mother-of-pearl pink](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/36728026) ---
**Author:** ![lnlcflx](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/lnlcflx/32/57021_2.png) [@lnlcflx](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/lnlcflx)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/8 "2026-05-22T13:29:44Z")
I created some time ago a project for this purpose called [Photobombs](https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/photobombs). My favorite observation of mine is [this fungus](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/338249430) infecting specifically ladybugs which I only noticed at home looking at the beetle pictures. ---
**Author:** ![dinofelis](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/dinofelis/32/22507_2.png) [@dinofelis](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/dinofelis)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/9 "2026-05-22T16:37:22Z")
I never expected to see [this in the observation photo](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/188008270) which I briefly stopped to take for the guineafowl at one point in Kruger National Park. Funnily enough, on this trip, this particular species always seemed to precede my big cat sightings of the trip. ---
**Author:** ![scarnoncunce](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/scarnoncunce/32/58266_2.png) [@scarnoncunce](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/scarnoncunce)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/10 "2026-05-22T17:18:40Z")
This [Brush-turkey](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/304328483) and his unusual friend ---
**Author:** ![cthawley](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/cthawley/32/1445_2.png) [@cthawley](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/cthawley)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 8:16pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/11 "2026-05-22T20:16:03Z")
This [fly using another fly as a landing pad](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/347601902). ![original (1)](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/e/d/ed3d49a40450542ffcb449be791c737f4fc04a63.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![dpilla89](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/dpilla89/32/72799_2.png) [@dpilla89](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/dpilla89)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 1:54am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/12 "2026-05-23T01:54:38Z")
Pseudoscorpion hitching a ride on a caddisfly leg (which I later learned is called phoresy). Didn’t notice it until after uploading the picture. ![large (29)](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/f/d/fd458e0ee91065bd38bddc61ce327d34c12e6be4.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![jjwsphotography](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jjwsphotography/32/52963_2.png) [@jjwsphotography](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jjwsphotography)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2026, 2:50am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/13 "2026-05-23T02:50:15Z")
![original-3](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/7/1/71057e5b660d5a14dc36ba68ce0f6888df04d497.jpeg) This little springtail! ---
**Author:** ![jbecky](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jbecky/32/3019_2.png) [@jbecky](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jbecky)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 8:36am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/14 "2026-05-29T08:36:39Z")
Just yesterday I photographed a [mushroom](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/366269383), and found a tiny [fly](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/366269380) in post: ---
**Author:** ![Drew\_Baxter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/drew_baxter/32/42997_2.png) [@Drew\_Baxter](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/Drew_Baxter)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2026, 1:56am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/15 "2026-05-30T01:56:09Z")
This Leaf Hopper Assassin Bug just happened to be on the flower of a San Miguelito vine that was beneath the Dutchman’s Pipe that I intended to be the subject of this photo. _Aristolochia carterae_ is a host of the Gold-rimmed Swallowtail that I see frequently in the south end of Puerto Vallarta in the State of Jalisco, México. ![IMG_3831](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/8/7/8716b82f8bd0d51d0c9f57502cc509a487217f0b.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![austinrkelly](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/austinrkelly/32/13836_2.png) [@austinrkelly](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/austinrkelly)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 5:47am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/16 "2026-06-08T05:47:15Z")
I always like seeing mites on much larger arachnids (or other animals) when I’m looking at the photos later like these two examples: [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/74770904](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/74770904) [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/290565872](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/290565872) ---
**Author:** ![aditya\_puthenpura](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/aditya_puthenpura/32/52417_2.png) [@aditya\_puthenpura](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/aditya_puthenpura)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2026, 8:27am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/17 "2026-06-08T08:27:15Z")
I was taking pics of a peacock doing its dance and deer came and stood right in front of it ![large (39)](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/1/e/1ec8ab35ff599a69b051fb6da722a7a5bb5fbc1a.jpeg) [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/347064832](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/347064832) too good not to post! ---
**Author:** ![MyLegsAreItchy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/mylegsareitchy/32/73458_2.png) [@MyLegsAreItchy](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/MyLegsAreItchy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 5:48pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/18 "2026-06-10T17:48:23Z")
Mostly just bugs on plants [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/313670826](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/313670826) [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/310800011](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/310800011) During the winter I had nothing to upload so I started going through old trip pictures. I discovered a lot of random birds in pictures. This was exciting since a lot included animals I had not seen before and don’t live in my area. [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200903386](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200903386) [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/201490596](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/201490596) [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/201509704](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/201509704) [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/339456803](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/339456803) [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/201214758](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/201214758) ---
**Author:** ![MyLegsAreItchy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/mylegsareitchy/32/73458_2.png) [@MyLegsAreItchy](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/MyLegsAreItchy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/19 "2026-06-10T17:49:52Z")
There is a project called Invisible Insects and it collects pictures of insects that appear in pictures of plants that you didn’t notice at the time! ---
**Author:** ![HappyBird44](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/happybird44/32/44103_2.png) [@HappyBird44](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/HappyBird44)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272/20 "2026-07-27T21:55:02Z")
I got another one today. I was photographing a Thistle when a Bumble bee came to it. When I looked at the bee pictures later I noticed it had a little rider [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/385695681](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/385695681) [Next page](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/favourite-accidental-observation/79272.md?page=2)