"Seeking... What is the source of life?"

Axolotls are often referred to as “Mexican walking fish” but they are actually amphibians that prefer to live their entire lives underwater. These remarkable creatures can regenerate almost every part of their bodies if necessary, including their spines, internal organs, and even some parts of their brains. They have a very unique appearance and are extremely popular as exotic pets, but they can also be found in captivity at zoos, laboratories, and breeding facilities. Axolotls exhibit a trait called neoteny, which means that they never outgrow their juvenile characteristics like other salamanders. For example, they have both gills and lungs. According to a 2019 International Union for the Conservation of Species assessment, only about 50 to 1000 axolotls could be found in the wild. While critically endangered, artificial selection has created many axolotl variations with different shapes, sizes, and colors not seen in nature. [A-Z Animals: Axolotl]

A couple days ago I decided to finally put my little mobile microscope to use and went hunting for some lichen and moss. I got three of what are probably the most common species in my country. The pictures are a little grainy but it was still fascinating to see them up close. Lichen & moss enthusiasts, let me know if you can identify these just from the macro shots! ☀️

Thwaitesia argentiopunctata known as the sequined spider, mirror spider, or twin-peaked Thwaitesia, is a species of spider found in almost all states of Australia. It is known to have a reflective abdomen that plays a crucial role in their camouflage to protect them from predators in the forest canopy. The scales look like solid pieces of mirror glued to the spider's back, but they can actually change size depending on how threatened the spider feels. The reflective scales are composed of reflective guanine, which these and other spiders use to give themselves color. [A-Z Animals: Sequined Spider]

"Nautiluses are a living link to the ancient past. They’ve been around over 480 million years, cruising deep ocean reefs even before the time of dinosaurs. These soft-bodied creatures live inside an intricately chambered shell. A nautilus can only sense dark and light with its simple, pinhole-type eyes. But a nautilus can perceive water depth and current directions, as well as current speeds, to help it keep its body upright. A highly developed sense of smell helps a nautilus search for food and find mates." Full article - Monterey Bay Aquarium

though technically not a butterfly but let's just say it counts. ☀️

Hello! Unfortunately, I don't do species ID and have very little entomology knowledge outside of what I post so I'm not very helpful here. I suggest reaching out to an insect ID blog and/or submitting an observation to iNaturalist, where experienced people could help you out with identification. Thank you for sharing nonetheless, I hope you find what you're looking for!

Histioteuthis heteropsis (H. heteropsis), also known as the strawberry squid or jewel squid, is a species of small cock-eyed squid found in the Pacific Ocean at depths of 200-1000 meters. Famous for not only its berry-like bright red body speckled with numerous luminescent photophores, but also its set of differently sized eyes, this squid is a swift predator of the ocean’s twilight zone. It is thought that the large, yellow-tinted eye, is used to see objects against the dimly lit waters above, while the smaller blue eye, measuring about half the size of the yellow one, is more geared towards capturing bioluminescent light sources below. The strawberry squid's semi-upright posture lets it simultaneously look up, down, and sideways as it jets through the ocean. Food in the deep-sea is scarce, so animals must evolve unique strategies to not only find food, but also to avoid becoming food themselves. The reason for this squid's coloration has to do with the reflection of different wavelengths of light underwater. Red light is quickly filtered as depth increases and thus it effectively never reaches the deep ocean. There, a crimson coloration actually appears black and helps the squid hide from the gaze of predators like sperm whales, dolphins, tunas, swordfish, and sharks. Small light organs called photophores also dot the squid’s body to help mask its silhouette from predators prowling the waters below.

Chlorociboria aeruginascens (and the macroscopically identical species Chlorociboria aeruginosa) is a fungus commonly known as the "green elfcup", or "green wood cup", due to its characteristic small, blue-green saucer shaped fruit bodies. They are often found on bark-free dead wood, particularly oak, beech, ash and hazel all year round. Their fruit bodies, however, are seen much more infrequently than the turquoise staining of wood caused by said fungus, also called "spalting". Spalted wood also comes in many other varieties. It is prized by fine woodworkers and has been used since the 14th century in wood inlays. A great example of this is Tunbridge ware wooden box covers, decorated with colorful designs made from pieces of different colored woods, many of which were spalted. Pigmentation of the infected wood occurs when fungi produce extracellular pigments, in this case Xylindein, inside of its fibers. However, in some spalting fungi, pigments are generally bound within the hyphae cell walls. A visible color change can be seen if enough hyphae are concentrated in an area.

While the exact function of this gelatinous substance, along with the fragile spines underneath is not entirely clear, it is assumed to act as a means of mechanical self-defence by being nontoxic. Instead, it provides any potential predators with a "mouthful of goo" and temporarily incapacitates them.

Only a few jelly fungi are eaten, having little or an undesirable taste. However, some species, such as Tremella fuciformis, are not only edible but prized for use in soup and vegetable dishes. Others, like the Cat's Tongue mushroom (Pseudohydnum gelatinosum), can even be used to make candy.

Surprisingly enough, diatoms have also made their way into art, with their empty frustules being used in beautiful microscopic arrangements, the first of which dates back as far as the early 1800s:

This unusual process, which is similar to photosynthesis, is known as kleptoplasty. Except for a select number of creatures like the adorable “leaf sheep” Costasiella kuroshimae nudibranch, very few non-plant organisms are capable of the phenomenon.

"Slime molds, which are not actually fungi but cousins of single-celled amoebas, are goopy organisms that can find their way through a maze and remember the location of food—all without the benefit of a brain or nervous system."