The Insect Arena

The Insect Arena I photograph insects/ other wildlife in their natural habitat. Not an entomologist. Go outside! Explore! Not affiliated with the bug fighting pages. No AI.

Nature enthusiast and nemophile (look it up- a great word!) with a passion for bugs.

Not being super familiar with the habits of most flies, I can't say how this little island of death ended up. The dead ...
05/26/2026

Not being super familiar with the habits of most flies, I can't say how this little island of death ended up. The dead fish was only a couple of feet off shore, and the rotting flesh of course attracted some opportunistic dipterans to deposit some babies with assurance of a good meal before pupating. From what I understand, the larvae that are ready to pupate will normally drop off into the soil to do so, and herein lies the problem. They try it, end up in the water and drown or become fish food themselves or endlessly search for an appropriate place to transform into adulthood (which in this scenario is non existent). Maybe this is even a super specialized species built for this kind of thing and they're going to bore into that co**se, pupate inside it and we'll soon have adult flies pouring out of that hollowed out eye socket (straight out of a horror movie). March 2023. Tampa, Florida, USA.

This White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae) looks lke it's had at least one close brush with death. The eye spots on the win...
05/26/2026

This White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae) looks lke it's had at least one close brush with death. The eye spots on the wings, while serving as a deterrent against some predators, can draw the attention of other, braver ones away from the actual head of the victim. Instead of an instant kill, the butterfly loses a bit of wing and escapes (depending on the persistence of the attacker). March 2023. Tampa, Florida, USA.

These gorgeous spiders are usually willing photo subjects, even after unintentionally bumping their web. They'll usuall...
05/21/2026

These gorgeous spiders are usually willing photo subjects, even after unintentionally bumping their web. They'll usually make a half-hearted attempt at fleeing, stopping short of reaching any real shelter. Even if they do make a full retreat, you'll find them nestled in the cracks of some tree bark, giving you a wonderful view of their glimmering silver, green, and black dorsal side. These should all be Leucauge argyrobapta, three different individuals. March 2023. Tampa, Florida, USA.

Met this chick at a bar in Georgia. Gave her some of my drink (she looked thirsty), but she flew off before I could get...
05/07/2026

Met this chick at a bar in Georgia. Gave her some of my drink (she looked thirsty), but she flew off before I could get her name or number. I think she said she was into woodworking or something like that. February 2023. Athens, Georgia, USA.

Not great with most Flies (Diptera), but I would think this is probably one of the Blow Flies (Calliphoridae) with its c...
05/04/2026

Not great with most Flies (Diptera), but I would think this is probably one of the Blow Flies (Calliphoridae) with its characteristic metallic blue green color. They're actually quite eye catching as long as you don't think about the filth they've probably been wallowing in. March 2023. Largo, Florida, USA.

I'm not sure how this Crane Fly would've ended up with its legs in the wrong spot like this, but I'm pretty sure it woul...
04/30/2026

I'm not sure how this Crane Fly would've ended up with its legs in the wrong spot like this, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be the M.O. of the spider. Long-jawed Orbweavers (Tetragnathidae) have the habit of sitting outstretched on slender branches, four legs out front, four legs behind so that if you weren't looking closely, you'd probably never see them. March 2023. Largo, Florida, USA.

This Potter Wasp (probably Euodynerus megaera) found where the good mud was at. She's collecting it to build a "pot" in...
04/30/2026

This Potter Wasp (probably Euodynerus megaera) found where the good mud was at. She's collecting it to build a "pot" in which to store the caterpillars that will feed her baby. This was the only shot I was able to get of her, and many of the pictures of like species on iNat and Bugguide are pretty much of this angle. They're pretty easy to sneak up on when they're otherwise engaged, but when they spot you, they're off. March 2023. Largo, Florida, USA.

I've definitely got to work on getting some better shots of these little guys. I can never seem to get any good, focuse...
04/28/2026

I've definitely got to work on getting some better shots of these little guys. I can never seem to get any good, focused shots. These Springtails (Collembola) showed up on a warm-ish winter's day with a fair amount of snow melt going on. They look like specks of dirt on the surface until you realize they're moving. These most closely resemble (to me) some of the Hypogastrurid Springtails (Hypogastruridae) belonging to the order Poduromorpha, the Plump Springtails. March 2023. Rhode Island, USA.

This, I think, is Leucauge Argyrobapta. They are very similar in appearance and habit to the no less beautiful L. argyr...
04/28/2026

This, I think, is Leucauge Argyrobapta. They are very similar in appearance and habit to the no less beautiful L. argyra and L. venusta. This wide shot followed by three more near identical photos showcases varying degrees of sunlight filtering through the canopy, seemingly transforming some of the spider's body from reflective to translucent. March 2023. Largo, Florida, USA.

Early March can be kind of hit or miss on the bug hunting front in southern New England as the temperatures can swing qu...
04/20/2026

Early March can be kind of hit or miss on the bug hunting front in southern New England as the temperatures can swing quite wildly. This little Wolf Spider (Lycosidae) -if it was only one- was out and about near the water's edge looking for a meal or a mate I'm guessing. The pictures were all a minute apart, so it's possible that this was anywhere from on to four different spiders, but I'm pretty sure they're at least all species of Pardosa. March 2023. Rhode Island, USA.

I don't know if any other insects employ this tactic, but Lacewings lay their eggs attached to the end of a thread-like ...
04/19/2026

I don't know if any other insects employ this tactic, but Lacewings lay their eggs attached to the end of a thread-like stalk. The intention here is that any scavenger looking for an easy meal is going to scarf up any eggs that have been laid on the surface of the bark by all those other dummies. The Lacewing eggs, however, will escape being devoured (unless the predator looks up). March 2023. St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.

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