Nice!
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Today I saw a very weird hopper here in Mexico, it looked like a tiny yellow marked lanternfly, that was very crazy.
But one of most recent favorite lifers was the butterfly Nica flavilla, it has very few observations for the Yucatan peninsula (where I live), so I got excited and got some pics of it. Hopefully I’ll add the observation soon.
Oh, I forgot to mention, a week before the butterfly lifer I saw my first great crested flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus), it was calling so I recorded the sound and added the observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/106709603
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This is from last week but I forgot to post it. This beetle that showed up in my bedroom.
Since I haven’t seen too many insects around recently (which is my usual niche of choice) and just as a general change of pace, I’ve been trying to observe and record bird sounds. My favorite observation from this week is one I actually got today. Unfortunately I have yet to get a species-level ID for this one, but it sounded so pretty!
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My favorite for the 3rd week of March is this unknown ground spider, which represents another new documented “species” for my garden Family Gnaphosidae (Ground Spiders) on March 19, 2022 at 01:50 PM by Elliott Gordon
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black capped vireos!
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Very nice photo! Welcome to the springtail club :) Looking at the location, E. unostrigata makes sense, as its so hardy and resilient to a dry environment. I’m in a similarly dry area so all I tend to see are drought tolerant entomobryids… holding out for globular or plump springtails closer to home one day!
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I’m a bit late to posting this, but I’m still thrilled about it – this Nyctoporis beetle I spotted about two weeks ago on a bike ride. They’re not terribly uncommon, but less proliferous than other tenebs in the area, and a first for me!
I’m a little sad I didn’t have my camera with me, though, so the photo could have been better.
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For the last week of March/first weekend of April, I nominate this stinkbug, which is also my 50th species in the “Organisms interacting with Rabbitbrush” project Genus Brochymena (Rough Stink Bugs) from Albuquerque, NM, USA on April 02, 2022 at 01:01 PM by Elliott Gordon · iNaturalist
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Usually, damselflies tease me by flirting off when I approach with a camera; but I was honored today to have one land on my left hand, perfect for taking a picture .
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First lifer this year, and sent me into jumping on my balcony - Stock Dove! https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/110461539
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Finally! During the winter I did not find much in the way of new lifers.
However, currently I am on the island of Nevis, in the country of St. Kitts and Nevis. And today I got to see and photograph a Long-tailed Skipper Butterfly!
Super Cool and new for me.
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Beautiful creature 
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Thanks yes, it was quite amazing-looking. But itt would not stand still on a flower for more than one second, so I could not get a good close-up photo.I hope it comes back again today.
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I am one of those people who gets prejudiced against my local area (not exotic enough). The further away a taxon lives from where I live, the more exotic it is, and the more desirable it is to me. I know that this is an irrational prejudice, and that the taxa in my own backyard are as evolutionarily valid as the ones on a remote mountain; but it takes conscious effort to act accordingly.
On that note, I noticed this, which I must have completely overlooked how many times because it is so tiny and underfoot?
I have always thought it seems like I am the only one who doesn’t find a lifer every week. But yesterday I had one, which nearly gave me a heart attack, because I couldn’t believe it! First I saw just one something fluttering, and then there were two - and mating! Southern festoon - Zerynthia polyxena. I still feel like my feet don’t really touch the ground.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/110593433
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Why was it so surprising to you? Isn’t it a common species? Or was it some dream that come true? I don’t live there so I don’t know a lot about their abundance.
First of all it is really a beautiful butterfly. Second, a mating pair of butterflies is always something special, because they are often very discreet and hide in the vegetation. Third, I had never seen it before, in Spain, where I live we “only” have Zerynthia rumina. (Also beautiful, but I have never seen them mating). Forth, I never expected to see it here in Southern France, because I didn’t know enough of its distribution, only that it is an eastern species - I know from a friend who saw it in Hungary. So this is the south-western border of its distribution. I think it’s not very common, at least it is protected here in France. :-)
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Well, that’s definitely true, for some reason finding mating butterfly pairs is very difficult. Are they protected in France? Didn’t know that.
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