MyWildBackyard

I wanted to see what would happen if I added wolf spider venom to my blood. This was more than a little cool.

The Rabid Wolf Spider is one of the fastest spiders in North America! We’re gonna get up close and personal with one of these freaky invertebrates, and see if they’re as dangerous as their name sounds!

An incredible find in the woods: the horned passalus beetle can use over 14 acoustic sounds! This is more than some vertebrates can make, and with their social nature it’s speculated that these could be a form of insect intelligence! How incredible is that?!

Found an incredible spiny orb weaver-- let’s see if they are something to be afraid of!

This was perhaps the hardest identification I’ve ever had to do!

Have you ever seen a bark louse? You’ve probably heard of their hair dwelling cousins! But do bark lice pose a problem for you? Click here and find out!

Few catches scare me. This one kinda did.

Gotta love those legs! Found a feisty little bark centipede out in my backyard!

ABSOLUTE UNIT of a click beetle I found outside my house

The thread-legged bug is actually a type of assassin bug that closely resembles a stick! Some species will invade spider webs, kill the resident without getting caught in the web, and take over the web as an acting “spider”!

Found my first ever snapping turtle today! He’s just a baby, but these buggers can still bite!

Salamanders are among the most elusive creatures out in my backyard. I see these guys once in a blue moon, if I’m lucky. I was stoked to find this little guy while building trails in my backyard!!

Always fun to find a praying mantis in your backyard. This one brings me back... As a kid the Chinese mantis was my lifer praying mantis. Caught one in my garden in an area where they weren’t very common. Now, living in NC, they’re all over in the woods, but I still get that rush whenever I catch one!

What makes the strange mud towers I keep finding in my backyard?

The Atlantic Mole Crab, Emerita talpoida is one of TEN species of mole crab worldwide