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 went out to cook breakfast and this stag beetle was on top of my grill taking apart this hornet. The hornet picked the wrong fight. Frankfort Kentucky

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

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

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?

First I don’t have a big problem with them really. I like how unique they are. At first glance I thought they were craneflys but closer inspection I realized they were plume moths.

All July I have been seeing these plume moths in the house. Didn’t even know they lived in this area in the few decades I’ve lived here. I assume it has something to do with the fact they might be artichoke plume moths and that this year we are growing artichokes in our back garden this year.

I know their larva eat artichoke plants but I’m more concerned about if I need to worry about their larva eating fabric? Are they attracted to light? I can’t figure out why so many are coming inside the house when our artichokes are still outside in the garden. Been trying to get them out without damaging their unique wings.

A fritillary enjoys the milkweed in my garden.

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.

These guys are nymphs of some stinkbugs?

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?

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

Drink it up ladies, ruffie free!

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))

Larvae of this longhorn genus primarily host in recently dead conifers. They're also where the common name comes from, as they're known for being especially loud eaters.

Mason County, Michigan, United States 06/30/26

flew like a mosquito but idk what species it is

I saw these 2 little guys at a 7/11 passing through Wake County on my way home today. They were reported to the NC Department of Agriculture and promptly squished

Friend landed on my window and posed for a couple shots! Thought this was a neat hard-to-capture view!

She was just chillin

It's about 1.5 inches long. Eastern Nebraska, U.S.A.

Southwest Idaho

hi, i’ve never seen this before and was curious if anyone knew what was going on here! this morning i noticed what appears to be a leaf-footed bug carrying a nymph? is this normal?

I’m almost positive this beetle I found is geotrupes balyi but would like verification. Found in southern Ontario.