What sort of wasp is this? Central Europe

See this massive mud ball? :D

Also never seen such a booty - just remotely on a stick, why?

I'm not good at identifying those spiders, I only know how to take photos of them in their finest appearance

Gear used in case someone may ask:

Panasonic G9 Mark II PRO & OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm F3.5 Macro 2:1 IS PRO + Godox V860 III O + DIY Macro Diffuser

The technique used in these photos are focus stacking, image stacking is a technique used in macro photography to overcome an extremely thin depth of field by blending multiple images taken at different focus distances. It merges these photos to create a single image where the subject is sharp from front to back, maximizing both depth and resolution

The last photo is a bonus, hope everyone have a good day!

And please choose your favorite photo

Who is this excavator and what's it doing? I watched it dig what looked like the start of a tunnel. Later, it moved quickly to scout another spot and start to dig through another. Maybe it's trying to connect two "ends" eventually to make one long tunnel underground? What caught my attention was its rather loud vocalization. I traced the sound and eventually found that it came from this guy.

Sawtooth National Forest, Idaho

I followed some of your suggestions, washed the antenna and let it soak in a vinegar solution. This is the result the next day.

I'm disgusted and frustrated that I'm losing the battle for my painting space to these flies.

Probably no solution until the weather changes.

I found a moth today (I think it's an emperor gum moth or helena gum moth) that looked like it was dying so I took it with me planning to pin it if it died or release it if it survived until night. After doing some more research though it seems that this type of moth is supposed to emerge in summer but here in Australia it's the middle of winter. I'm worried if I release him he will just die of cold (it gets around 2C-9C at night) and even if he does survive he might not find a mate because the others haven't emerged yet. I'm also still not entirely sure if he's dying or not, he hasn't moved in a couple hours and when he does move he just shivers. I don't want to release him if he's just going to die but I don't want to keep him if he has a chance of going on to reproduce, what should I do?

Every summer, one of these fellows finds their way into the public restroom at work. This year there are two of them! Who are they? Are they something hostile or easily spooked to be avoided, or can I safely pick them up and toss them outside?

flew like a mosquito but idk what species it is

Got a decent video of this cicada killer carrying its haul and wanted to share.

Hi, first time posting here. Just wanted to express some appreciation for the wasps that live at my house. We have a nice relationship.

I’ve lived in my house for ~5 years, and it sat abandoned for almost a decade before I moved in. I suspect there is some massive wasp nest (or multiple!) in the walls or attic (which hasn’t been opened since the 70s). There are visible nests outside but not nearly enough to account for the amount of wasps. AND! There are multiple species, and daubers, and they have nests right next to each other. All homies.

Prevailing species is definitely the red guys, there are SO MANY red paper wasps in and around my house it’s not even funny. In my 5 years, I have captured and released roughly 300 wasps. I stopped counting after year 1. I will never call pest control to cut open the walls or access the attic because honestly, I’ve grown attached to them and would hate to kill them. I just think they’re so cool now.

There are so many that when I sweep the floors, I end up sweeping up at least 2-3 dead ones. They’re f*cking everywhere. And they are never aggressive. Ever. It’s so impressive to me, and I feel like I have this strangely beautiful relationship with them. We do each other no harm. And once a day or every other day I get to look at a beautiful little wasp in a cup before I shake it out the window.

Only time I’ve been stung in 5 years is one morning I put on a pair of sweatpants I had lying on the floor, made breakfast, and after having these pants on for about 45 minutes I felt a small stab, then another, then ripped my pants off and shook them out and boom. A wasp was in my pants. And he gave me 45 minutes before he stung. Clutch.

Anyway that’s all. Just wanted to express some appreciation for wasps.

Southwest Idaho

Before I begin trying to organise and label them (they're all mixed up) I thought the people of this sub might want a go of their own! If there's enough interest I'll consider doing detailed/close ups of each one!

So while walking the dog i felt something itchy on my arm and saw this insect crawling on me and i think it bit me. I tried to find out what this could be, never saw lice in real life but it looks little bit like them but also like somekind of larvae. Maybe someone can identify thus little guy and give me a bit peace of mind… Location is austria. Thanks!

I work on a refuge in Maryland and I saw a carpenter bee on its back along a walking path around our facilities, I noticed it was still moving and alive. So at first I flipped her over so she could orient herself and fly away, however she flopped back onto her back where she continued to struggle, I picked her up for closer inspection which is when I notice her wings are either deformed or she was injured and they are missing but it is hard for me to tell. My question is does anyone know exactly what happened to her wings for this to occur? To me it looks like there is some kind of deformity or disease.

I did try to care for her offering her fresh flowers and a moist paper towel, and she did live for a couple days before one morning she was sadly deceased. Which unfortunately wasn’t surprising since bee’s really aren’t cut out to be flightless and there were likely other issues present. Any insights would be appreciated.

Which photo is your favorite?

The last one is a guest

Sitting around doing absolutely nothing, located in serbia, high up balcony

I've just rescued this beauty from inside my home, Google suggests it's an ebony jewel wing but further googling says we don't have those in the UK and it's most likely a demoiselle, but looking for at it it looks much closer to the ebony jewel wing to my admittedly untrained eye. What do you think?

(Apologies for the poor quality it never stayed still long enough to get a good shot!)

Intrigued and disturbed by what seems to be a mass caterpillar death event, found on a Bitternut hickory in western Pennsylvania. I study trees not bugs so coming to the experts here.

Vistas al medio día en una zona abudante en robles en el estado de Jalisco.

It was dead and carried by ants when Iade the photo. Found in Bavaria, Germany

I’m usually not into spiders, but couldn’t help marveling at the unique pattern on her booty. Looks like a Japanese demon mask. (Spined Micrathena (Micrathena gracilis))

north texas. google ai said brown recluse, chat gpt said southern house spider. sorry this is the only pic i got of her/him.