Slime molds (like this Willkommlangea reticulata) never fail to impress ... especially as you zoom in closer.

Pirate spiders (family Mimetidae) hunt other spiders. Many species slip onto a neighbor's web and pluck at the silk, imitating the movements of a trapped insect or a courting mate to lure the resident close ...

We're looking for a CV/ML Engineer to help us improve the machine learning systems that power iNaturalist's species identification and geographic range modeling. If you're excited to help build tools that help millions of people engage with nature, we'd love to hear from you! Apply: buff.ly/YZqaW6c

These bright yellow frogs are male Indus Valley Bullfrogs (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus). They turn this color only during the breeding season — outside it, they're a more muted green or brown ... but still always look a little like they've seen something bewildering.

These are likely the first living photos of the isopod Nesodillo medius! According to iNaturalist community member and isopod identifier Grant Wang (ponerinecat), these photos could be the first record of the species in about 80 years.

There are only a handful of records of this beautiful crab, Geothelphusa aramotoi, on iNaturalist ... so far!

A cute, not-so-little snail face for your feed: meet the Red Giant (Indrella ampulla), a stunning species native to the Western Ghats of India.

You're currently face-to-face with a short-legged springtail likely in the subfamily Pseudachorutinae. Consider this encounter to be your sign to go look at some dirt a little closer; you'll probably find something cool!

Ah, to be a Greater Painted-Snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) hanging out along a muddy shoreline.

You're currently looking at the first and only iNaturalist observation of this stunning jewel beetle, Paratyndaris pulchra!

Sometimes, you find at a flower on the ground and spot a sneaky slime mold passenger. In this case, you're looking at Nannengaella mellea.

Some spectacular parasitic fungus for your feed: Ophiocordyceps curculionum!

In real life, it took this Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Halyomorpha halys) about 22 minutes to fully molt ... but now you can see it in just a few seconds. Scroll to see the bug fully molt! 🧵⤵️

it's teeny tiny mantis o'clock

Next time you're outside, look a little closer at the forest floor, or even a patch of dirt. There's almost always a chance you'll find something wonderfully weird-looking (that's a compliment) — like this Chlorovibrissea melanochlora.

There are currently only 25 iNaturalist observations of this stunning spider, Micrathena furcula! Over 100 Micrathena species have been described, and all of them are equally awe-inspiring to behold.

For most of the year, adult Plains Spadefoots (Spea bombifrons) bury themselves underground ... & then they emerge when warm temperatures & rain finally arrive. This amphibian breeds in temporary pools & races the clock: eggs hatch in 48 hours, & tadpoles metamorphose in two weeks. Spectacular.

500,000 people have now contributed identifications on iNaturalist! When you upload an observation, it's often someone else who tells you what you found. Identifiers make iNaturalist work as both a learning community and a biodiversity data resource.

This amazing little hydroid earns its name: Tricyclusa singularis is the only species in its genus AND its family — and right now, you're looking at one of just two records on iNaturalist.

Chile's largest land snail (Macrocyclis peruvianus) is the only species in its genus and is found exclusively in Chile and adjacent parts of Argentina ... and that scale card in the photo gives a sense of just how large they can get: shells can reach 60mm across!

Right now, there are only 17 iNaturalist observations of this magnificent plant: Pan Viooltjie (Lachenalia argillicola)!

May you find someone who unabashedly looks at you like this when you enter a room.

A praying mantis photographed in Sulawesi couldn't be identified to species — because it might not have one yet. It appears to be an undescribed species, possibly a new genus entirely. One of 10 finds from iNaturalist's IDB 2026 project: nearly half a million observations, 144 countries, 17 days. 🧵⤵️

She wasn't looking for anything special … but found a scientific first. Read the full story via our newsletter, The Nature Notice: www.inaturalist.org/pages/newsle...

Meet the Chocolate Tube Slime (Genus Stemonitis) — not a fungus, not a plant, not an animal ... it's doing it's own taxonomic thing. Go touch some bark this weekend!

Biodiversity looks different everywhere, and people on iNaturalist are documenting what they notice! Here's a small glimpse at what's been shared in the International Day for Biodiversity 2026 project so far ... 🧵⤵️ #IDB2026 #BiodiversityDay #LocalAction #ForNature @UNBiodiversity

Here's an incredibly beautiful Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) for your feed. Okay, great, now go look at some birds offline!

In honor of International Day for Biodiversity ... which iconic taxa are you? 👀 (Let us know which ones you want to see next!) #IDB2026 #BiodiversityDay #LocalAction #ForNature @unbiodiversity.bsky.social

No filters, just bees. Happy #WorldBeeDay! 📷️ on iNaturalist: 1. Silver-tailed Petalcutter (Megachile montivaga), seen by anudibranchmom in the United States 2. Slender-scaped Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa tenuiscapa), seen by odonut in India 3. Eufriesea simillima, seen by isaacmiramontes in Mexico

Biodiversity isn't something you have to travel far to find! Here's a glimpse at what people have been noticing right where they are over the past weekend — all observations added to the International Day for Biodiversity 2026 project on iNaturalist ... 🧵⤵️

Biodiversity is everywhere — including near you! May 22 is the International Day for Biological Diversity, and from May 15–31 we're inviting you to celebrate by paying closer attention to your nearby nature. 🧵⤵️

Two years ago, this Red-headed Spider Ant dragged a small spider across the sand and someone captured a photo. The resulting iNaturalist observation was categorized under "Order Araneae" for a long time — until identifier djringer recognized it as Paraplectanoides crassipes, a rare orbweaver!

The #CityNatureChallenge results are in! Across 61 countries, over 106 THOUSAND people worked together to document their nearby nature — resulting in over 3 million new, important data points for biodiversity science and observation.

Amamos a los carpinchos y a @inaturalist.bsky.social 💚 @flograttarola.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/uwF7B...

New paper by NYU Biology undergrad (now PhD student at U. Chicago) Shira Linsk! Shira combined on-the-ground sampling with @inaturalist.bsky.social data to better understand how moths are impacted by urbanization doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Many observations on iNaturalist are identified to species, genus, or family. This one stops at Order Hexamerocerata — a broader category that contains entire families, genera, and species within it. There are only 15 observations of this entire order on iNaturalist ... this is one of them!

Look a little closer and you'll see not one but TWO mollusks in this photo — the striking black and white chiton in the center, and a sneaky sea slug known as Diguet's Pleurobranchus (Pleurobranchus digueti) off to the upper left!

Seek users, ICYMI: check out the new camera controls and smarter location settings! To get the best identification suggestions, turn location on when identifying wild organisms and off for garden plants, pets, or captive species. Happy observing!

Psst — just two more days to upload your #CityNatureChallenge photos and help identify what you saw! Head to the iNaturalist app or inaturalist.org and upload any wildlife photos you snapped between April 24–27. The identification period closes May 10 — then stay tuned for final results on May 13!

New to iNaturalist (or just want a guided intro)? Join us for a free webinar on May 15 — the iNaturalist team will show you how to explore nature near you and turn your photos into real scientific data! ➡️ May 15, 9am Pacific Time 🔗: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Oh nothing, just a garden springtail on a newt (!!!) here to brighten your day a little.

Always fun to see species I named turn up on @inaturalist.bsky.social, and even more so when people ID them without my help! Phytomyza nemophilae was originally described from specimens @cosmopterix.bsky.social reared from Nemophila, and has since been reared... www.inaturalist.org/observations...

When you upload an observation on iNaturalist, you'll more often than not get an identification (and sometimes a comment) from an identifier! We've had the privilege of spotlighting a few of these amazing folks over the years on our blog. Meet some of the people behind the IDs: buff.ly/BgQkAqR

To protect nature, we first need to get to know it ... and that's where identifying comes in. Here's what you need to know. 🧵⤵️

A moth — Dirphia monticola — photographed in the high-altitude tundra of Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, southern Brazil. This endangered species had never been recorded alive on iNaturalist before this observation!

It’s been a whirlwind weekend of community science, but the fun’s not over just yet! Now that the #CityNatureChallenge observation period has ended, it’s time to sit back, relax, and upload all your photos of wildlife from the last few days on the iNaturalist app.

Grab a friend and head outside because there’s just 🚨ONE MORE DAY LEFT🚨 to make observations for the 2026 City Nature Challenge! After today, you can still *upload* your photos onto @inaturalist.bsky.social—but they need to be *photographed* between April 24–27 to count as part of the challenge.

It’s not too late to join the world’s largest annual community science event! Three easy steps: get outside, photograph wild nature, and share it on the free @inaturalist.bsky.social app. 👀🤳

Right now, thousands of people all around the world are getting outside and documenting their local nature to help science and conservation. Here are just a few highlights from the first 24 hours of the 11th annual City Nature Challenge. ✨