Hi, I am new to the forum here so this is kind of an introduction. I hope this post is in the right place and isn’t a duplicate. This topic is to show the different stages of maturity of a specific species. If you have been lucky enough to observe a species from young to old this is a good place to share them. I do not want photos of the same individual as I don’t want to encourage people to go back time and again to the same family and potentially interrupt the species. Instead I’m just looking for people share photos of a species from young to adult. You can even do egg to senior if you can. I will start with an example Pied-billed Grebe:
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5 posts were split to a new topic: Opinion about using many large photos versus links
Edessa Rufomarginata
Like many good creatures, the journey of an Edessa rufomarginata begins on a host plant, preferably a Solanum erianthum. This plant smells terrible but E. rufoarginata does not mind, being a stinkbug that smells not marvelous itself.
To set the scene, this is a Solanum erianthum. An E. rufomarginata will live his whole life here, with a huge extended family group, for this species is not a solitary one.
A few times a year, it seems that all the E. rufomarginata are engaged in this particular act. These are large and colorful insects that are, in the best of times, not very good flyers. They do not need to be! They have no natural predators that I have seen. (See: stink.)
They are also very prolonged in this act. And because they are awkward, they sometimes fall off their perches whilst in this act, so one must watch where one steps lest one step on a happy couple. (Did I mention they are stinkbugs? In nature bright coloration can sometimes serve as a warning. In this case it is a signal that the stink is to the nth degree. Tread carefully.)
Soon thereafter, lots of this occurs.
A very cool thing about this species is that they show no awareness of any other species so you can watch them at length. In doing so I have learned that eggs are always laid in the same order and always in those two rows, totaling fourteen.
Usually the eggs are laid on the undersides of leaves of the S. erianthum but I have also found them on the undersides of wide blades of wild grass that were accessible via sky-walking from the S. erianthum and once after a bonanza mating season on a wild tobacco also touching the S. erianthum. (These eggs never did as well though.) By “never did as well”, I not only mean that fewer of the eggs came to maturity (usually 11 or 12 minimum on the S. erianthum), they were more prone to danger.
While the adult E. rufomarginata has few predators, likely due to its aroma, the clutches of eggs face dangers such as hungry ants and parasitoid wasps.
BUT, if the yellow eggs are in the right place and somehow manage to avoid ants and wasps, they will turn orange shortly before this happens.
At first the nymphs are solid orange with no little “sewing lines” (my term), but they quickly get their first, followed by their second, followed by the little ones on their backs.
I know I have said unkind things about the way these insects smell, but I really admire their social structures. Not only are the adults attentive to the young, the older young are attentive to the younger young.
When a juvenile begins to get a dark patch across their shoulders, they are on the verge of adulthood. There is a noticeable color shift and a jump in size.
The old age of an E. rufomarginata is marked first by a subtle fading, then the body begins to lose volume and then the wings begin to not be held smoothly against the body.
And that is the lifecycle of the Edessa rufomarginata.
(edit to take out all photos. Sorry @bouteloua.)
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Lucy! Reading this is so fun, thank you!
Then I got caught up in a caterpillar discussion… I appreciate your way with thoughts and words. 
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Wow @ItsMeLucy - this is outstanding! Thank you for posting it with links to your wonderful documentary photos! 
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Reviving this topic after it kind of got killed by a request not seen on other topics. I also understand it makes no difference in cost if I link and have the photo show versus not linking but uploading. Using just links with the photo not showing the post loses it’s impact.
Juvenile and Adult Red-headed Woodpecker
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@ItsMeLucy - This was such an awesome post. I hope you put the photos back and have more like this to share. I mean Wow this is awesome but even better if you don’t have to click on every photo. From a scientific and artistic stand point I think (my opinion) it is worth the cost for the photos to show. Perhaps a good reason for folks to donate.
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Lucy, I wish you did journal posts. Then we could read all of the wonderful detailed descriptions you write, like this one, without having to stumble upon them one by one, here in the forum!
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Just to clarify, in regards to
The request here is that users provide links to photos, not put them to display in the thread, if they are going to be using a lot of photos. Posting lots of photos into a thread does add up over time. iNat pays to host this forum on Discourse, and that subscription only includes a certain amount of storage. A couple of photos in a post is ok, but if users post lots of photos either in one or across multiple posts, moderators or staff may ask them to switch to links.
As other folks have mentioned, if users want to illustrate some topic with lots of photos for other users to access (ID guide, phenology, etc.), a journal post is often the best way. Thanks.
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Thank you for the clarification. So, for example, in the “favorite lifer” thread, as long as we stick to the original intention and post one favorite lifer each time, we would be okay, but photo essays, as it were, are better for journal posts.
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In 2024 I observed a tiny spider. In an effort to get better photos of it, I went back for subsequent observations. This led to a series of 17 observations over 32 days.
The photos show the “hackled” quality of this spider Family’s web (Uloboridae), which imparts this frazzled texture to its web in order to ensnare insects, rather than the usual stickiness. They show this little female’s egg sac chain appear and go from short to long, including a quick video of her creating the last bit of it. They show her first “batch” of children, their sudden, unexplained disappearance, and a final observation with a few spiderlings in view again - whether the original bunch or newly hatched I don’t know. For me it was a neat glimpse into the life of this tiny creature. A series, rather than just one observation, born out of my struggles with a cellphone camera, contortionism and a few other factors. If you’re interested, the link below takes you to a page of all of the observations in order, starting with the first (at least, I hope it does this for you too!). Note the changes over time in the web structure and quality, the length of the egg sac chain, and the changes in the size of the spider’s abdomen.
Uloborus glomosus (Featherlegged Orbweaver)
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Danaus plexippus (Monarch butterfly)
Observation of an adult female Danaus plexippus laying an egg on Asclepias syriaca flower bud
Egg observation
Larva observations
Instar 1 on Asclepias syriaca leaf
Instar 2 on Asclepias speciosa leaf (different individual / date / state)
Instar 3 on Asclepias tuberosa seed pod
Instar 4 on Asclepias tuberosa
Instar 5 on Asclepias syriaca
Pupa - Unfortunately, I haven’t yet observed this stage! Something to look out for in the coming year…
Adult male
“Males are most easily differentiated with dorsal views when their two bulging scent patches on the hind wings are generally visible, as in Kathy Horn’s photo. Sexing monarchs from their ventral sides requires a closer look. The scent patch on each hind wing creates a slight bulge to the vein that holds it.”
Danaus plexippus ssp. plexippus (Migratory Monarch) at Monarch resting area
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