#may2025

"My sweet girl," he cried, lifting his daughter into his arms. He held her close, relishing her familiar scent. He had missed it so much—missed her. Relief and joy overwhelmed him. He was home to her. He kissed her head, her cheeks, her fingers, and her toes. Every bit of her was beautiful, but more importantly, safe. The weight of it all came bearing down on him like a dam breaking after having held back a flood for too long. This time his knees didn't recover; he fell to the floor, cradling Iliana in his arms. Tears rained down his face as a storm of sobs filled the quiet nursery.... "I'm sorry," he sobbed, kissing his daughter again. "I'm sorry," his gaze shifted to Daenarya. "I'm so sorry." ~ Snippet from Home to Her with art by ArtbyAinna (Insta)

Isn't she so pretty?

I wanted to get at least one more mermaid drawn for Mermay! And so I picked Charlie to design a mermaid form for. ^^ I am so very happy with how it turned out!

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Please do not use or re-post/re-upload my artwork without my permission. Thank you!   (reblogs, however, are welcome and appreciated)

May Beetle - Phyllophaga sp.

When digging in the garden or looking under a stone or log, you just never know what you’ll find! In the blog's previous post, a larva of this particular Beetle genus was showcased. While many larvae were found while I was untangling the roots of a bishop’s weed overgrowth from our yard's rambling rose bushes, that larva was the largest. At least in terms of overall size. As the digging and unearthing went on, what should stumble into the shovel but this burgundy armored Scarab Beetle. While tempting to imagine, the great larva didn't suddenly hyper-metamorphose into its adult form once it discovered the surface world. In all seriousness, finding both May Beetle larvae and an adult specimen in the same area of the garden was a welcome surprise. I didn't dig that deep to unearth this Scarab, so it's possible that it would have emerged from the ground within a few nights (at most) which would have been right on time for a June emergence. Since the digging had to continue, I couldn't risk damaging this insect by re-burying it, so it was relocated to a shaded spot with fresh dirt after photography concluded where it could be concealed until sundown. Otherwise, although this Beetle may not have been as long as the large grub, but it was wider, bulker and better equipped for life on the surface world compared to a subterranean lifestyle.

This Beetle's smooth and armored body not only protects its body and wings from attacks, but it's also essential for keeping it intact after flying into a porchlight at full speed. As a night flier, it seems to have reasonable night vision (by insect standards), but bright lights appear to distort their field of vision, causing the aforementioned light ram. But it was not nighttime just yet when these pictures were taken. If anything, this adult Beetle hadn't quite found its walking rhythm yet, as when I picked it up, it clumsily pulled itself along my hand (note the curvature of some of the legs across the pictures), eventually causing it to tumble to the soil below and fall into a vulnerable position: on its back. No harm would come to this Beetle, and so we get a glimpse of its beautiful underside with its big eyes, sensory hairs and how the legs connect to the main body. It even tucks in its antennae to keep them out of harm's way! When in this state, the Beetle became motionless for good duration of time (give or take 20 seconds) before starting to flail its legs around in order to upright itself. With bit of movement and a jolt from briefly opening the wingcase, this robust May Beetle flipped over every time... and then proceeded to stumble and fall back to the soil. When your exoskeleton is that durable and you have an open circulatory system, I guess a Beetle like today's specimen can afford to take a few falls before its first flight.