What is your Favorite Lifer from this week?

Yesterday in my backyard, I found a rather uncommon species, Xysticus texanus, just after molting:



https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/228296970

I instantly found her beneath an abandoned exuvium/shed-skin that I spotted. She was very cooperative for the most part.

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Ooooooh! That’s outstanding macrophotography!

So, in the second image, that’s the shed skin below the molted spider?

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Thanks! Yup, that’s the skin! It’s interesting how much bigger it got from just a single molt.

I love alpine plants - and saw two lifers in a single hike on the weekend. The first two pictures are of Saxifraga crustsata, the encrusted saxifrage. The last picture is of Androsace villosa, the shaggy rock jasmine. I feel the leaves are almost more interesting than the flowers with both species.



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My favorite insect lifer from last night - a mantidfly! Cool!
observation

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My favorite mammal lifer seen a little while ago while I was at the office today - a gray fox! Amazing! observation


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I am traveling a bit through Colombia right now and it is not that hard to get at least one lifer every day… but this one must have been the coolest for me so far (shitty phone photos, but got my camera out for this one as well and will see what I got when we are back home)

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/228423978

We left our residence for the night early in the morning and just across the road I spotted this solifuge on the wall… there are not tooo many sightings of these in Colombia, especially when it comes to the andean region and for me it is only my second observation of this whole order of life… It made my day :blush:

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On a day trip to Torremolinos I found something that was on my wish-list for 7 years, not a lifer though, because I had found a dead one before. So just a link. ;-)
But I also saw some lifers:
crested tit

Meria tripunctata

Linaria clementei, a plant endemic to Málaga province

and a cool mushroom (and I’m usually not into mushrooms) Battarea phalloides

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These guys have been on my observation wishlist forever. Really cool!

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I’m thrilled to be able to say that I’ve crossed the Regal Moth off my bugcket list!

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“Bugcket”, nice

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My family and I explored the stony beach near the mouth of the Rākaia River on the South Island of New Zealand this afternoon. The beaches on the Canterbury Bight are relatively remote, frequently nameless, and it’s always great fun to see what you’ll find.

This afternoon I was excited to find this washed-up Deepwater Burrfish (Allomycterus pilatus), one of not very many observations on the east coast of the South Island.

I was also pretty pleased to find this egg case of an Australian Elephantfish/makorepe (Callorhinchus milii). There were a number of these on the beach, but this one was the best preserved.

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This gorgeous Appalachian Brown (Lethe appalachia) was a lifer this morning. I’m more familiar with the similar and related Southern Pearly-Eye (L. portlandia), but I appreciate the smoother elegance of the Brown.

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My “snorkelling-friday” brought me another lifer - in fact the only animal new for the year list.
Cancer pagurus - the edible crab. Maybe it didn’t know that’s it’s not supposed to occur in the Mediterranean? ;-)

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About 31 more lifers since Monday, including my first flat bug https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/228487994, this nicely pattern planthopper https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/229367649, and this dainty flower https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/229138974.

My favorite has to be this seemingly-new-for-New-Mexico moth https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/229345994

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From June, uploaded this week:

Desmia:

beautiful moth #1

Chalcoela iphitalis - parasitoid of paper wasps:

beautiful moth #2



Any enemy of Polistes is a friend of mine. Sorry, wasp people.

Euptilon - the first antlion I’ve ever seen (that I know of):

very colorful eyes

Not technically a “lifer” species, but the first male Argiope aurantia I’ve ever seen:

large spider

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This Harris’ Three-Spot…hands down!!
[Harris' Three-Spot.

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Pareidolia mode activated!

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This spider wasp:

IMG_3086

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image
Stunning species (and one whose adult colours are oddly reminiscent of tiramisu).

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