An emerald-green moth missing for nearly 150 years has been rediscovered in South Africa. Photos posted online confirmed the survival of Drepanogynis insciata, once known only from 1870s specimens — highlighting the power of citizen science platforms like iNaturalist.

One very rotten deciduous log, one very observant iNaturalist community member — and a close-up world hiding in plain sight. Say hello to the white tubelet (Henningsomyces candidus). 📷 cryptomarasmius on iNaturalist 📍 United Kingdom 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Meet Scytodes ytu — a spitting spider with just 18 observations on iNaturalist. True to their name, spitting spiders hunt by launching wads of venom-laced silk at their prey. 🕷️ 📷 jeanmartins on iNaturalist 📍 Brazil 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

It is #weevilwednesday. It’s also the day I found out I’m an @inaturalist.bsky.social ambassador and I’m very excited to help others help scientists and conservation efforts. Wooo!!! Anyway. Here’s a weevil with its cute sad face and oddly blank eyes. 🌱

Heads up: iNaturalist will be offline for 1 hour beginning Wednesday, February 11 at 9pm Pacific Time (UTC-8). More details: forum.inaturalist.org/t/scheduled-...

Sturgeon poachers (Podothecus accipenserinus) like this one hang out near the soft bottom floors of waterways, looking for their next meal. 👀 📷 liamsingh on iNaturalist 📍 Canada 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

This gorgeous little bloom's scientific name is Disa staerkeriana — there are only 14 iNaturalist observations documented of this rare, endemic plant! 📷 carelf on iNaturalist 📍 South Africa 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

When an iNaturalist observation from Ecuador's cloud forests caught researchers' attention, they knew they had something unusual: a grasshopper with a striking red and green pattern previously only known from Bolivia and Peru, thousands of kilometers to the south.

A glorious bristleworm (specifically, Proceraea hanssoni) for your feed! Bristleworms are related to earthworms and leeches — they're all Annelids, which are worms with bodies made of multiple segments. 📷 jensseattle on iNaturalist 📍 United States 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...

If there were ever a “nature’s best pin-cushion mimic” contest, this pill woodlouse (Calmanesia erinaceus) would surely be among the top contenders.  📷 hollythefrog on iNaturalist 📍 Madagascar 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...

Ptilotus senarius hadn’t been seen since the 1960s. People thought it was extinct — until nature-enthusiast and horticulturist Aaron Bean came across it and shared an observation to iNaturalist. There, community members helped confirm what once seemed impossible: this species had survived.

This Psylloid is mid-honeydew excretion! These bugs feed on plants, and species in the family can be found all around the world. 📷 bastian_gargiulo on iNaturalist 📍 Chile 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

This gorgeous orchid's scientific name is Chloraea lechleri, and there are currently only 27 records of it on iNaturalist! 📷 antonio1355 on iNaturalist 📍 Argentina 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Right now, there are only six iNaturalist records of this striking ant, Myrmecia cydista, which is native to and only found in Australia! 📷 timpaasila on iNaturalist 📍 Australia 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Wherever you are, it's a good day to pause and notice your local nature. Today's #ObservationOfTheDay is this Olive-backed Tailorbird (Orthotomus sepium), an insect-eating bird endemic to Indonesia. 📷 ayambotak on iNaturalist 📍 Indonesia 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...

Zoom in on this amber orb — see the fuzzy brown stick? That's a springtail's antenna. This tiny creature fell victim to Pandora batallata, a fungus from an order called the "Insect Destroyers." 📷 christian_neumann on iNaturalist 📍 Germany 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

You're looking at what's likely the first record in Nigeria of Dintelmann's Reed Frog (Hyperolius dintelmanni)! 📷 abubakaringim on iNaturalist 📍 Nigeria 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Look closely and you'll spot a mantis among the gravel! You're looking at a species likely in the Eremiaphila genus, joining fewer than 600 other observations on iNaturalist. 📷 ahmedriyami on iNaturalist 📍 Oman 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Interrupting your doom-scroll with some moss! Specifically, side-by-side mosses both in the genus Grimmia. 📷 vhamon on iNaturalist 📍 France 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

The numbers are in from our first-ever ID-a-thon! For the last month, our community came together to help identify iNaturalist observations around the world.

Welcome, you're now in a staring contest with what's likely a wasp-mimic jumping spider. 📷 talibzuo on iNaturalist 📍 Hong Kong 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

How did a toilet photo become a breakthrough for science? 📸🦦 Scott Loarie of @inaturalist.bsky.social shares how a camper in a remote Colombian cabin snapped the first confirmed photos of a living Colombian weasel, a species once known only from 1800s museum skins.

Behold: the ever-spectacular Silver-lined Worm Lizard (Ophiodes intermedius). Not a worm, doesn't have legs, *is* a lizard. 📷 leoleiva on iNaturalist 📍 Argentina 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Currently, this is one of only TWO iNaturalist observations of this stunning bee (Exaerete trochanterica)! You never know what you might find out there. 📷 kennedy-borges-road on iNaturalist 📍 Brazil 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

There's no shortage of stunning lichens — like this Devil's matchstick (Pilophorus acicularis), which grows these tiny black-tipped stalks across rock surfaces. 📷 volcanoesandbugs on iNaturalist 📍 United States 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Need a bit of a (fun) challenge in the final few days of our ID-a-thon? Help us sort insects! There are over 20 orders of Winged & Once-Winged Insects, but these are 6 that are commonly observed on iNaturalist. Here are a few tips to help you tell the difference: tr.ee/identifyweek5 🪲🦋🐜

This is a riverweed (possibly Marathrum plumosum), a remarkable plant that switches between aquatic and terrestrial life—thriving both submerged during high water and exposed to air in dry seasons. 📷 pcarreyes on iNaturalist 📍 Mexico 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

SPOTTED: this (spotted) sea snail, Primovula panthera — only the fourth observation on iNaturalist! 📷 jayparoline on iNaturalist 📍 Taiwan 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

For over 30 years, this striking orange and blue caterpillar's identity was a mystery ... until a few days ago, when a scientist reared the very caterpillar in these photos to adulthood. 📷 gwentomologist on iNaturalist 📍 Peru 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Some are squishy, some have shells, all are spectacular — we’re almost to the end of week 4 of our ID-a-thon, and we want your help sorting mollusks! This is a short guide to introduce you to five of the most commonly seen groups of mollusks on iNaturalist. Learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek4 🐌🐙

Velvet worm stare-down. (You're currently face-to-face with the species Peripatoides suteri!) 📷 emily_r on iNaturalist 📍 New Zealand 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

We’re in the second-to-last week of our ID-a-thon, and we’re sorting arthropods! Here’s a quick guide to get you started: tr.ee/identifyweek4 🦀🦋🕷️

Consider your sign to stop and stare at logs a little more often because just LOOK at this glorious velvet mite! (Third photo is where it was spotted.) 📷 jeremyhegge on iNaturalist 📍 Australia 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Happy #NationalBirdDay! Wherever in the world you are, go admire some birds today (and share your photos on iNaturalist). Here are a few quick tips to get you started. 🧵⤵️

A diver saw something incredibly special at the ocean's surface: this juvenile King-of-the-salmon (Trachipterus altivelis), a kind of ribbonfish that spends the majority of its time in the deep. 📷 tedjudah on iNaturalist 📍 United States 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Happy 2026, please enjoy this thread of birds staring directly into the camera/your soul. 🦉👁️ 📷 on iNaturalist: 1. Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) by woodswoman

Sea star fans, wake up — it’s the third week of our ID-a-thon, and we’re sorting echinoderms. Visit iNaturalist to learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek3 ⭐💫

Our final #ObservationOfTheDay of 2025 — this stunning slime mold, possibly in the genus Metatrichia! 📷 igorskh on iNaturalist 📍 Germany 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...

End-of-2025 vibes, exemplified by this Southern Elephant Seal. 📷 maxi762aguilar on iNaturalist 📍 Argentina 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

We’re kicking off the third week of our ID-a-thon, and we’d love your help sorting flowering plants into their classes: monocots or dicots. Learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek3 🌸🌻🌷

Usually, this plant (Ourisia ruellioides) has vibrant red flowers — but an iNaturalist community member found and photographed one with a small colony of yellow flowers! 📷 matias58199 on iNaturalist 📍 Chile 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

An Asian Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) mid-bite into a Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens). Not a bee, but still a good snack. 📷 dhruvapunde on iNaturalist 📍 India 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Tiny tree or bagworm moth? (Spoiler alert, it's a bagworm moth.) 🌲 📷 bradhean on iNaturalist 📍 South Africa 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

We’re in the second week of our ID-a-thon, and we’d love your help sorting reptiles into four broad categories: snakes, lizards, turtles & tortoises, and crocodilians. Learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek2 🐍🐊🐢

You're currently looking at fungus (specifically Gibellula alata) emerging from a spider. Right now, there are only six observations of this species on iNaturalist! 📷 cajqld on iNaturalist 📍 Australia 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

A spectacular little springtail for your feed today — meet Lophognathella choreutes! 📷 doviende on iNaturalist 📍 Canada 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

This rare plant (Cardamine lojanensis) is only found in Ecuador, and you're potentially looking at the first living photos of the species! 📷 jovany69055 on iNaturalist 📍 Ecuador 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

You can help make identifications on iNaturalist right from your computer! It’s the second week of our ID-a-thon, and we’re kicking it off with sorting amphibian observations into broad categories like frogs, salamanders, and caecilians. Learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek2 👀🐸✨

Every day is a good day to appreciate weevils. 📷 uwe_kaempf_karwendel on iNaturalist 📍 Germany 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay

Pink Ghost Crabs (Ocypode ryderi) are found on the east coast of Africa — and this one here has a cluster of eggs! 📷 leoposthumus on iNaturalist 📍 Mozambique 🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations... #ObservationOfTheDay