the "lost" species Monarda mexicana is still out there! Known from just 2 historical collections (most recent from the 1950s). Imagine my joy in stumbling on a picture of it on @inaturalist.bsky.social !!! We've now documented the first known modern populations and revived the species name:
📷 entomolovro on iNaturalist
📍 Thailand
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
Today's a good day to get up close with an Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus). ➡️
📷 adriana_machado on iNaturalist
📍 Uruguay
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
Phrynops hilarii is a side-necked turtle, which means exactly what it sounds like: instead of compressing its neck backward into the shell, it folds it to the side. Magnificent.
📷 didobola on iNaturalist
📍 Brazil
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
New-to-iNaturalist ant alert! This is Stegomyrmex vizottoi, a species of ant with just ONE observation on iNat so far. 👀🐜
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A close-up of a live Drepanogynis insciata moth seen from above, wings spread wide against a pale gray background.
Without those observers in the right place at the right time, this 147-year-old mystery might never have been solved!
A live emerald-green moth rests on a gray surface. An iNaturalist observation card identifies the species as Axiodes insciata, Research Grade, with the note from the iNaturalist observer reading "On the fridge door in the Research Centre."
But between 2020 and 2023, community scientists posted photos from multiple locations across South Africa that became the first-ever images of this species alive.
A composite image showing three pinned moth specimens alongside handwritten collection labels from the Natural History Museum in London. The top two specimens are faded pink-brown; the bottom specimen, collected in 2022, shows faded green and gray coloring.
Until recently, only two specimens of Axiodes insciata — an emerald-green geometrid moth — existed in the world, both collected in 1875 and held at the Natural History Museum in London.
An emerald-green moth with scalloped, brown-edged wings rests on a white surface surrounded by green leaves. Text reads: "For 147 years, people thought this moth was extinct."
For 147 years, people thought this moth was extinct. Community scientists on iNaturalist changed that.
📷 sebastiandoak on iNaturalist
📍 New Zealand
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
Close-up photographs of a naturally green harvestman (Algidia viridata ssp. bicolor) with a bumpy, textured body that resembles moss or algae. The arachnid's long spiny legs and bumpy body are shown from multiple angles against a blurred green background.
Close-up photographs of a naturally green harvestman (Algidia viridata ssp. bicolor) with a bumpy, textured body that resembles moss or algae. The arachnid's long spiny legs and bumpy body are shown from multiple angles against a blurred green background.
Close-up photographs of a naturally green harvestman (Algidia viridata ssp. bicolor) with a bumpy, textured body that resembles moss or algae. The arachnid's long spiny legs and bumpy body are shown from multiple angles against a blurred green background.
Close-up photographs of a naturally green harvestman (Algidia viridata ssp. bicolor) with a bumpy, textured body that resembles moss or algae. The arachnid's long spiny legs and bumpy body are shown from multiple angles against a blurred green background.
Never miss a chance to get face-to-face with a harvestman.
This is the stunning subspecies Algidia viridata ssp. bicolor, endemic to New Zealand!
📷 james_king780 on iNaturalist
📍 Canada
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
A slender, translucent white insect with two antennae emerging from its head and two long antennae-like appendages forking out from its rear.
A slender, translucent white insect with two antennae emerging from its head and two long antennae-like appendages forking out from its rear.
A slender, translucent white insect with two antennae emerging from its head and two long antennae-like appendages forking out from its rear.
Not all six-legged creatures are insects — meet Haplocampa wagnelli, a hexapod adapted to life underground. They were first discovered in 2018 living deep inside caves on Vancouver Island, and to this day are known from just seven caves in the world.
The beetle (in the upper left) belongs to the species Heterotemna tenuicornis and has just 31 observations on iNaturalist!
📷 amaneko on iNaturalist
📍 Spain
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
A wholesome dinner with friends.
A yellow, gray, and white patterned snail that looks almost iridescent crawls among algae.
A yellow, gray, orange, and white patterned snail that looks almost iridescent crawls among algae.
The snail is about a third as wide as a human fingertip.
The snail rests among a mat of algae.
This magnificent little snail is likely in the genus Calliostoma — click through the photos for a sense of scale! 👀
📷 kychinmay on iNaturalist
📍 India
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
A pied kingfisher perched on a branch with the text "Least seen, most at-risk — what over a decade of iNaturalist data says about Nigeria's birds."
A red-chested bird on a bare branch with the finding that birds most at risk are the least observed, and that specialist species facing extinction make up just 5% of observations.
An African Rail wading in water with text explaining that iNaturalist provides the foundation for monitoring so targeted expert surveys can be deployed efficiently and strategically.
A Ross's Turaco perched on a branch with the text "Your sightings help inform conservation efforts" and a citation for the study in Frontiers in Bird Science (2026).
iNaturalist can't replace targeted expert surveys, but it's a powerful starting point: showing where the gaps are, what's been missed, and where conservation attention is needed most.
🔗: tr.ee/R03bOT3-HR
(P.S., if you're ever trying to get an earthworm identification, be sure to take photos of the many angles you see in this thread!)
According to experienced earthworm-identifier thirty_legs on iNaturalist, this species is "unique in their soil-feeding habit and pale color in a genus of mostly red, litter/wood-eating forest worms." There are currently only 2 iNaturalist observations on record!
Special worms!! You're looking at possibly the first living images of Bimastos welchi, found under rocks at a Missouri conservation area.
📷 bathroomstahl on iNaturalist
📍 United States
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
South Island Edelweiss blooming in the mountains, with the text "What seasonal changes are you noticing right now?" overlaid.
A Coast Live Oak observation on iNaturalist with the annotation panel open, showing "Fruits or Seeds" selected.
Close-up of an Asclepias expansa flower with annotation guidance for flowering plants and vascular plants overlaid as text. Text reads: "Documenting a flowering plant? Note what you see: No flowers or fruits, Flower buds, Open flowers, Fruits or seeds. And for any vascular plant (ferns, trees, wildflowers): Breaking leaf buds, Green leaves, Colored leaves (late season or drought), No live leaves."
A White Witch moth caterpillar on a tree trunk with annotation guidance for animals overlaid as text. Text reads: "Documenting an animal? Capture where they are in their life cycle: Egg, larva, nymph, or pupa (for insects); Juvenile or adult (for most animals); Teneral — a newly emerged adult not yet in its final form (for dragonflies and cicadas). Even indirect signs of animals count! You can annotate: Tracks, scat, feathers, hair, or bone; Nests, webs, burrows, and other constructions; Molted skin or exoskeleton; Galls on plants; Whether the organism appears alive or dead."
What's changing in nature where you are right now? 👀
First flowers, emerging leaves, migrating birds, fresh tracks in the snow, and more — your iNaturalist observations can help scientists understand how climate change is influencing natural cycles. The key is annotations: tr.ee/annotations
Meet Barbour's Clawed Gecko (Pseudogonatodes barbouri), endemic to Peru! Click through for a peek at the first-ever iNat observation of this charming lizard (last photo).
📷 raul_ortiz_rios on iNaturalist
📍 Peru
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
A white bird with beige fringe grasps a large frog in its long beak.
Western cattle egret vs. large snack.
📷 marccronje on iNaturalist
📍 South Africa
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
You're looking at a slug caterpillar moth — named for their larvae, which bear a resemblance to slugs. The iNat community hasn't confirmed this one's species quite yet, but it sure is spectacular.
📷 ewoutknoester on iNaturalist
📍 Tanzania
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
An emerald-green moth missing for nearly 150 years has been rediscovered in South Africa.
Photos posted online confirmed the survival of Drepanogynis insciata, once known only from 1870s specimens — highlighting the power of citizen science platforms like iNaturalist.
White cylindrical tubes grow upward from a dark brown surface.
White cylindrical tubes grow out from a dark brown surface.
From far away, the fungus just looks like scraggy white patches on a log.
A hand holds up a ruler to the patch of fungus — it is quite small, less than 15 centimeters across.
One very rotten deciduous log, one very observant iNaturalist community member — and a close-up world hiding in plain sight. Say hello to the white tubelet (Henningsomyces candidus).
📷 cryptomarasmius on iNaturalist
📍 United Kingdom
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay
