Mossbugs!

Talk about an absolute joy to see! I just happened to see this little guy through my camera while photographing the Millipede posted yesterday. I am familiar with the springtails used within bioactive enclosures as I keep them with my Isopods and in my Jumping spider enclosure but those look very different then this guy and other members of the Order Symphypleona (Gobular Springtails) do. They primarily feed on fungi and moss.

Man I love Millipedes. They're so cool looking and all their little legs are so fascinating. If this is the specific species that I think it maybe then this is an introduced species to the United States. It is native to Northern Europe

These little guys belong to the Family Trombidiidae also known as red velvet mites. I always think its such a treat when I get to see these just as the bright red color makes them pop so much and they are so weird shaped.

I think the legs and the eyes of this fly are so fascinating. I love the striking red and their eyes are just so huge they're honestly a little unsettling.

I love finding running crab spiders I think they're such an interesting shape and honestly just so cute. This was one of many creatures I found while I was trying to pack up at the end of my camping trip and they were all honestly so distracting because I couldn't help pulling out my camera every time even though I was about to have to go drive 8 hours to get home.

This one is a fun one. It is such a strikingly beautiful plant. It is also HIGHLY toxic which honestly I feel like it just screams HI I'M TOXIC the way it stands out in boggy wet areas is so striking and also so suspicious. When we were hiking my friend saw this and we didn't know what it was at the time and immediately they were like that plant is 100% toxic there's no way it isn't.

The average lifespan of this species is unknown but we do know they can live to at least 11 years.

when I had first found this beauty in one of the little creeks I honestly assumed it was some type of moss. I was beyond delighted to discover it is actually a type of yellow-green algae. Species in this genus are apparently sometimes known as water felt which makes sense because it had such a weird felt like texture that was so fascinating and nothing like what I expected it to be. Watching the water run over it was also so beautiful.

These belong to an unknown species of fern belonging to the family Osmundaceae. This family of ferns is ancient and the only living family left in the Order Osmundales