Eastern Hercules Beetle - Dynastes tityus (male, 40-50 mm, up to 60 mm with horns)
Found at a lighted wall in the morning. I had found them dead a few times at this site, but this one was uninjured.
Comedy. When I tried to manipulate it for photography on the wall, it backed onto my hand and would not let go. I had to drive home (a couple of miles) with it attached to the back of my hand. It rasped my hand with its mouthparts, but did not draw blood. Later I was able to coax it onto a stick and release my hand. A polarizing filter was used here to reduce reflections.
The fourth image shows it responding to an object placed up against its head--the object is clamped and then tossed to the rear. I tried this first with a pencil and the beetle tossed that quite a ways.
Also uploaded at:
bugguide.net/node/view/4461
References
Being eaten by a spider
Baby Snake
I chanced upon this dramatic scene next to a grocery store in Durham NC (USA). The storm water pond next to this place is quite the wildlife hotspot.
Predator: Red-footed Cannibalfly - Promachus rufipes (male)
bugguide.net/node/view/3027
Prey: Blue Dasher - Pachydiplax longipennis
I found this pretty green katydid in a suburban yard (Durham NC USA) in September 2020.
Bush Katydid - Scudderia species (male)
bugguide.net/node/view/7130
Species-level ID of these requires a good view of the terminal appendages of the male, which I did not get here.
(One frame shows a fairly close lateral view.)
My daughter spotted this spider in the street of our neighborhood.
On Abies balsamea.
This male orb weaver spider was found 14 August 2005 in Wake County, NC (USA). I was going through old files and reprocessed the image.
Marbled Orbweaver - Araneus marmoreus (male, 6-9 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/2016
Some really annoying highlights due to water/flash cloned and smoothed out.