Two of these cool art renderings are based on my photos of Lamprosoma, from this post: gilwizen.com/lamprosoma/

🫧 ͛.* #invertebrates

If you follow me on IG/FB, you may have seen my Stories and know I’ve been leading my Guyana tour the last two weeks. I hope to share photos from this trip soon. In the meantime, here’s a short video from the most unexpected moment of the trip (I was looking for birds and didn’t have my camera).

Very exciting day today, as we can finally attach a species name to this mysterious and beautiful hawkmoth caterpillar from Ecuador and Peru. Thanks to the rearing and documentation efforts of @gwentomologist.bsky.social, we now know this caterpillar is Manducta neglecta.

Definitely one of the coolest shots shared by my peers in this year’s year-end collection from other photographers! @wizentrop.bsky.social photographed this Micrathena spider constructing her egg sac in Ecuador. Read more about it in the blog. (Photo © Gil Wizen. Shared with permission.)

The full Moon and bright stars of Orion light up the dark of winter. From my home in British Columbia. #astrophotography #orion #astronomy #winterstars

Did some work on my #FungiJournal the other day. A work in progress. I’ll finish it one day. Music: Detectorists - Johnny Flynn. #FungiFriends

There is impossible wonder in the forests of city state Singapore. I find indescribable magic in the shiny eyes of this beautiful, peaceful Sunda Colugo.

A scorpion from the Urodacus yaschenkoi species complex. #scorpion #arachnid #ArthropodArt

Bro is LOCKED IN! 🤠 Check this out! An inseparable mating pair of Leaf Mantids (Pseudoxyops perpulchra) from Ecuador! 💚 That small male at the back is hanging on for dear life! We all know what the female will do if she gets the chance! 😅😈

Colores navideños entre las ranas: "Pristimantis ornatissimus", Ecuador.

the people NEED roach pix 😤 Pseudomops septentrionalis "Pale-bordered Field Cockroach", Oklahoma Balta notulata "Small-spotted Cockroach", Oahu Panchlorinae, Tambopata, Peru Paratropes, Tambopata, Peru

The thing about entomology is, there are always weirder bugs than anything you could imagine on your own. Here's Cysteodemus wislizeni, a blister beetle from west Texas.

Australian cockroaches are pretty. This is Balta spuria, which I've found in various indoor and outdoor settings in Victoria.

I found some tiny crabs in the sea 🦀✨️ It felt just like a crab kindergarten!! ⁡ かにがにの多様性𓂃◌𓈒𓐍

Giant Leopard #Moths, Hypercompe scribonia, were frequent visitors to the bug light this year. What looks like black markings from a distance, is revealed to be a rich iridescent blue upon closer look. Some have spots, and some have rings. #MacroPhotography #Mothmas #Invertefest

The magic of Christmas Eve was another stunning male Atlas moth. My 5th Atlas of the week. Finding these magnificent magical moths means so much to me.

This micromoth from Ecuador (Struthoscelis semiotarsa) is the epitome of 'kawaii'. Large head with emerald green eyes, long antennae, short forelimbs, fancy hindlimbs, and fluff. It also moved in a very cute way. It cannot use the hindlegs for walking, so it drags them behind like a dragon's tail.

I haven't been taking many pictures the last couple of weeks, (and today it's pouring rain), but here's a photo I took on Christmas Eve three years ago, of a single green lacewing egg in my garden. Think of it as a wrapped present with a bug in it. 🎁🌿🐙📷 #bugsky

Today I have something really special for you guys! Not too far from the caiman I posted recently, I found something MIND BLOWING This is a butterfly pupa, and it mimics the head of a snake. And not just any snake, but specifically the head of a boa snake!!! Probably Opsiphanes, an owlet butterfly.

A pair of leaf-mimicking katydids (Typophyllum mortuifolium) from Ecuador displaying mate guarding to ensure paternity. Sometimes females carry *two* males simultaneously. Regardless of how we interpret this, I think we can all appreciate the physical and emotional labor the female is doing 🤗

Finally got some photos of Australia’s “blue ant”, Diamma bicolor, which is not an ant at all but a shockingly large metallic blue thynnid wasp, wingless and solitary, that hunts mole crickets. Been meaning to shoot this thing for years.

Our neighbor for this week is 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘢, commonly known as the six-spotted zigzag ladybird (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). A highly common and ecologically beneficial beetle, it is found across the city's gardens, agricultural fields, and urban parks.

that time of the year when this little species (Habronattus ustulatus) becomes active found this little male yesterday in eastern San Diego County, In-Ko-Pah County park, perched on little pieces of granite and quartz along wash edges

my modest collection of flies with WIDE heads 🙇 a hammer-headed Richardia (Ecuador), a stalk-eyed Chaetodiopsis (Mozambique), a pointy-eyed Ophthalmoptera (Colombia), and an antlered Richardia (Colombia) why though? male-male competition? sexual selection? chime-in if you know!

New Ant Lab video today about pincer wasps and a new research project. This one has some really cool, newly-filmed insect behavior in it! youtu.be/9osTBzQ0zbk

It is true that when your eyes are focused on the vegetation and on the ground trying to find hidden arthropods, you tend to miss some of the larger animals. Here is a juvenile Schneider's dwarf caiman (Paleosuchus trigonatus) that we almost missed while crossing a small stream. What a lovely beast!

Day 20 of #InsectAdvent Nearly there, eyes on the prize of Christmas Day. Talking of eyes, some of the best eyed creatures are stalk-eyed flies including Plagoiocephalus latifrons (image @bertonemyia.bsky.social) we saw in Costa Rica @royentsoc.bsky.social @dipterists.bsky.social

Oh, just a couple cute little ladybugs with blue eyes 🥰 #Coccinellidae: #Hyperaspsis bigeminata North Carolina, USA

We are continuing our virtual hike along my favorite trail at Emerald Arch in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Oh, what's this? A wizened dry leaf?.. (see what I did there) No, it's a dead leaf mantis (Acanthops falcata)!

Oh good morning! Here's a brand new one from my studio, for your Thursday enjoyment. Need a last minute holiday gift? I can help with that. Check out my 2026 UV Floral Calendar - it's a stunner, guaranteed to impress. www.rainhayes.com/product/2026... #flowers #photography 𝑂𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑚

Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulana), an arboreal snake with many beautiful color morphs. This is one of the subtle morphs but I think it is stunning! Something about the ghost pattern against the olive background, and those pink and black accents are just... 😙👌 *chef's kiss* Photographed in ecuador

A handsome suit of armor on this female Nemotelus (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

Dendroblatta sobrina, a beautiful cockroach found in rainforests across northern Latin America. At night these stunning roaches can be found foraging on bark of mature trees, usually in small groups containing adults and nymphs. They are hypervigilant and sprint up the trunk upon any sign of danger.

🫧 ͛.* #invertebrates

This monkey slug caterpillar (Phobetron sp.) from Ecuador has evolved to look like a discarded tarantula molt. This one mimics the tarantula Avicularia juruensis (see my previous post) so accurately, down to the pink toes and yellow bands! The hairs cause skin irritation, just like Avicularia hairs.

ENOOOOORMOUS SNAIL!? 🤯🐌 PLEASE meet the Giant Amazon Land Snail (Megalobulimus popelairianus)! 🧡 These guys are the HEAVIEST terrestrial land snail and are just an all-round extraordinary critter! It was an absolute HONOUR bumping into this one on the beautiful paths of Maquipucuna’s forest! 🌳✨

More than meets the eye

Curiosity and attention are behaviors that allow us to disengage from the rapid-fire chaos cycle and stay grounded. Medium and subject are not really important. Find something interesting and let it take over your mind for a bit. Enjoy the refreshment! 🌿 𝑁𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑓 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑘𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑑 #flowers #photography

Amazonian pinktoe (Avicularia juruensis) is by far the most common tarantula species at Emerald Arch. We encountered them on trees, on the path, in man-made habitats, I even had one living on the wall right above my bed! Beautiful and gentle creatures, it's easy to forget they are vicious predators.

MEET MR. MOSSY WEEVIL! 😍👋 This is the most ADORABLE little beetle strutting its mossy stuff around the Amazon! 🌳 LOOK at those adorable little antennas! 🥹💚 Measuring in at one centimetre long, I believe it is in the genus Ulocerus and it is another little GEM found at Manu Biological Station! 🪲💎

in retrospect Termite Greg may not have been the best one to take the group holiday photo

Acorn Knight

Oh, you're tired after taking care of your one kid for the entire day?

Beautiful pattern on this longhorn beetle

It's always nice to see the Lilac-breasted Roller in action, as we did in South Africa in August. This species and the Sunbittern are the two birds that I will constantly be trying to improve upon when it comes to flight shots.

No filter, woke up like this

The bulky Brontostoma basalis from Ecuador - incredibly strong and its venom packs a punch! When I took it out of the vial it immediately grabbed my finger and bit it. Was it painful? Yes, for a hot minute. But as always with assassin bugs it is more the speed of action that surprises me the most.

This grasshopper has all the angles. (Found at night in Colombia a couple of years ago) #bugsky 🌿🐙

When they are small they look like little pancakes, but as they grow they turn into proper manju crabs. 🦀🦀