Harvester Butterfly
Here is a shot of the Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius) butterfly in its natural habitat, the world around it is as green as can be. Get out in that hot air today and dig up some treasures for yourself! Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser in Connecticut while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreHarvester (Feniseca tarquinius)
It might not look like an unusual butterfly, but the Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius) is North America’s only carnivorous butterfly. That’s right, flying around in our very own woodlands is a carnivorous butterfly! Its larval stage feeds on aphids usually found on Alder trees instead of a host plant. The adults will eat the honey dew excreted by aphids or tree-hoppers. These butterflies can be very difficult to find, usually only discovered while resting on the ends of leaves during territorial and mating disputes. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your...
Read MoreBlue-spotted Salamander (Ambystoma laterale) by Twan Leenders
Even though I’ve seen many different versions of this scene before, it never ceases to amaze me: a first gulp of air as a metamorph amphibian (a larval Blue-spotted Salamander, Ambystoma laterale, in this case) prepares to leave the familiarity of its aquatic habitat to try its luck on land. This image only captured a small, split-second occurrence, but it also recorded a phenomenon that is so biologically fundamental (and so utterly amazing when you think about the mechanics of the whole process!) that I was very excited to document this so many can see and ponder it.
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