What is your Favorite Lifer from this week?

This European peacock butterfly for the first week of May 2022. I was able to crawl within a foot or two.

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One of my favorite butterflies ever!!! Never seen it though, I’ve never been to Europe.

Ok, so I’ve started uploaded the many, many photos to iNat. Here are the highlights so far. (If you know the species name, feel free to go to the observations and ID)

To begin, there was this beautiful mushroom that looked like fresh bread. I went back a few days later and it was twice the size (separate observation for that coming soon).
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/115649177

On a rainy day, all of the slugs and snails came out. This included a brown slug of some kind (Meadow Slug?).
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/115657842

Lastly, there’s his plant I found on the side of the building. I’m very proud of the second shot.
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/115662822

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I believe I found a junk bug :star_struck::
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/115601233

Shambling across the stump, the bug looked like a homeless vagabond carrying all his possessions strapped to his back.

In reality, the junk bug is actually a cold blooded killer. Study the heap he carries closely. Those aren’t bits of leaves and dirt on his back.

The heap is made up of dead bodies
https://www.al.com/live/2012/11/junk_bugs_are_cute_but_that_lo.html

This is a lifer in that I have never seen a lacewing in this state. Who knew?:exploding_head:

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Haven’t remembered this forum post for awhile, but this week I was excited about this water strider, which I saw multiple days this week since I decided to start paying attention to aquatic and semi-aquatic insects this spring: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/115678291
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/115505530

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Today I saw a new lifer: a gorgeous Tortyra metalmark moth in a forest trail. I’m completely stunned, its colors are unbelievably beautiful, it really looks like a fairy! And also, a baby scorpion, it belonged to the genus Centruroides, but I can’t distinguish the species because it was very small. The only species I’ve ever seen is C. gracilis, so it was probably a lifer.

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That’s a very cool-looking moth genus! I also got a lifer moth today, actually two, but this one is the prettiest of many I saw this year with nice Russian and French names (Carmélite) and an odd English name Scarce Prominent.

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Hey, that’s a very cute moth too! Yes, Tortyra is an incredible genus, and finding it was a complete surprise! They look like flying pearls, but in reallife they are much, much, much more impressive. They really are the fairies of the forest!

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Coyotes in my yard was definitely my lifer from this week! It was nice to have something like that happen during such a hectic time! Last week I got an adult coyote on the trail camera in my yard, and now this week, two puppies, which is the lifer!

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For anyone interested, I uploaded the photos of the Red Foxes onto iNat. Link below.
https://inaturalist.ca/observations/116029985

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Even back in my hometown in Andalusia I found a lifer - actually a lifer order: Raphidioptera - snake flies. And someone of my Facebook-insect-friends could even ID it: Harraphidia laufferi

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Im currently working from Europe and so far had at least one lifer (plants only, I have yet to start with moving things) every day for two weeks or so, but this is my favorite so far: 1. Today is the first time I saw Orchis militaris, 2. it’s not just any species but the type species of Orchis, 3. it’s a rare all-white plant, 4. It looked really pretty

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I had two lifers this week, one enjoyable one not so much.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/116020418
I didn’t notice this Tragia ramosa until I knelt down to get a closer look at something else, but I figured out it was there really quick. All of those little hairs sting like hell when they touch your skin. My leg was still burning last night when I went to bed.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/116020408
This Bicyrtes was fun to watch dig around for a few minutes. Lil dude was completely unbothered by my presence

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@fffffffff Here it is!!!

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I told you: it looks just like a fairy!!!

Oh, that’s a really cool one!
And I forgot that week ended, here’s a recap of my lifers:
Scat that for me looks more like a marten than a fox, I saw martens before (this particular sp.), but have no photos.
Ramsons which is the plant that I looked for a long time.
European Red-bellied Clerid found by my husband and it fell from the tree right after this one lucky shot.
Oystershell Scale on a birch, probably could find long ago.
First ided Megatoma tianschanica beetle, but saw similar one a week ago which is not ided past family now.
3 moths: Grey Birch, March Tubic and Water Carpet

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Clerids are crazy. I once saw an Enoclerus at first thinking it was a velvet ant (no photos :unamused:)

What??! So many lifers!

Here it is too! Finally have the photo here in my computer.

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They’re very pretty beetles!
That’s not many, should be more, I’m still lacking 4 079 (list grew from April!) species observed in this region, and I won’t live forever, it should be more like 100 of them a week, lol, just need to go out more and travel, as I’m really tired of fir-oxalis forests.

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You may believe they’re few but I barely have two ore three lifers per week, and I live in the tropics!