White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica)

The white-nosed coati (Nasua narica), also known as the coatimundi is a species of coati and a member of the family Procyonidae (raccoons and relatives). They are distributed from Arizona and New Mexico states of USA up to Columbia and Ecuador. It is a medium sized mammal and can weigh up to 12 kg.

They are omnivores and can climb trees, though they are mostly ground foraging. They quickly adapt to human presence and can be tamed. They are generally active in the day.

Luna Moth (Actias luna)

Luna Moth (Actias luna) is a moth in the family Saturniidae. It has a wingspan of up to 114 mm (4.5 in), making it one of the largest moths in North America. It is distributed in Eastern North America, east of the Great Plains. 

In Canada there is only single generation every year but in southern parts there are three generations. Females lay 400-600 eggs. The caterpillars are highly polyphagous and feed on variety of tree species. I seen this one in Kansas and multiple times in Florida.

References:

• Luna Moth - Wikipedia
• iNaturalist Observations 2939624 8082656

The great blue heron (Ardea herodias)

The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, rarely seen as vagrant in southern Europe.

The great blue heron was one of the species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in Systema Naturae. The scientific name comes from Latin ardea, and Ancient Greek erodios, both meaning "heron".

The great blue heron is replaced in the Old World by the very similar grey heron (Ardea cinerea).
















References

• Great blue heron (Wikipedia)
• Record on iNaturalist

Gray Wall Jumper (Menemerus bivittatus)

Gray wall jumper (Menemerus bivittatus) is a spider in the Salticidae family commonly known as the Jumping Spiders. It is usually found on the walls of buildings or on tree trunks where it stalks its prey, mainly flies and small insects.

The jumping spider family (Salticidae) contains over 600 described genera and more than 5800 described species, making it the largest family of spiders with about 13% of all species.










References:

• Jumping spider (Wikipedia)
• Menemerus bivittatus (Wikipedia)
• iNaturalist record

Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans)

The great blue skimmer (Libellula vibrans) is a dragonfly of the skimmer family (Libellulidae) . With a total length of up to 63 mm, it is one of the largest skimmers. The immature forms of the skimmer are brown in color and mature forms are blue hued.

Encountered near lakes, ponds, and slow streams in the eastern United States and rarely in southern Ontario, Canada. Larvae live on mud bottom among detritus.

References:

• iNaturalist record
• Great blue skimmer (wikipedia)
• IUCN profile

The green darner (Anax junius)

The green darner (Anax junius), is a species of dragonfly in the family Aeshnidae. It is named darner, due to its resemblance to a darning-needle. One of the most common and abundant species throughout North America. It is well known for its migration distance from the northern United States south into Texas and Mexico. It also occurs in the Caribbean, Tahiti, and Asia from Japan to mainland China.

Though I have seen several magnificent males flying circling ponds, but they rarely settle to be photographed. I got lucky with this female green darner as it settled on a low lying branch of a tree in hot afternoon sun. 

The males have bright blue tails where as females have brownish tails.

The darners lay eggs inside water and the nymphs are aquatic carnivores feeding on insects, tadpoles and small fishes. The adults feed mainly on flying insects. 

• Green darner (Wikipedia)
• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/3116783
• Florida Carpenter Ant (Camponotus floridanus) feeding on Common Green Darner (Anax junius)
• http://animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Anax_junius.html
• http://cirrusimage.com/wp/dragonfly-green-darner/

Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis)

Asian ladybeetle (Harmonia axyridis) also commonly known as the harlequin, multicolored Asian, is a large coccinellid beetle.

This is one of the most variable species in the world, with an exceptionally wide range of color forms. It is native to eastern Asia, but has been artificially introduced to North America and Europe to control aphids and scale insects. It has become invasive in some places.

The name "ladybird" originated in Britain where the insects became known as "Our Lady's bird" or the Lady beetle. Mary (Our Lady) was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early paintings, and the spots of the seven-spot ladybird (the most common in Europe) were said to symbolize her seven joys and seven sorrows.

References:

• Harmonia axyridis (Wikipedia)
• iNaturalist records 2838857, 1976846, 2008670, 3153935, 6186353