Steel-blue Cricket Hunter

Invertebrates > Hymenoptera

The Steel-blue Cricket Hunter (Chlorion cyaneum) is a solitary digger wasp celebrated for its dazzling metallic-blue exoskeleton and formidable predatory specialization. Cruising low over sunlit prairies and garden lawns across North America, this non-aggressive...

Stalked Scarlet Cup

Fungi > Cup Fungi

The Stalked Scarlet Cup (Sarcoscypha occidentalis) is an exquisite ascomycete fungus celebrated for its brilliant, jewel-like red fruiting bodies that emerge from damp forest floors in late spring and early summer. Native to the rich deciduous woodlands of eastern...

Shaggy Fairy Cup

Fungi > Pezizales

The Shaggy Fairy Cup (Microstoma floccosum) is an enchanting, miniature cup fungus belonging to the order Pezizales. Fruiting in late spring and early summer across damp, mature hardwood forests, this tiny scarlet gem appears on decaying sticks partially buried in...

Barking Frog

Amphibians > Frogs

The Barking Frog (Craugastor augusti) is a robust, rock-dwelling anuran native to the rugged limestone plateaus and desert mountain canyons of the American Southwest and Mexico. Named for its startling, guttural courtship vocalization that sounds remarkably like the...

American Pygmy Shrew

Mammals > Shrews

The American Pygmy Shrew (Sorex hoyi) is one of the smallest living mammals on Earth, holding the record as the lightest native mammal in North America. Tipping the scales at a mere two to four grams, this minuscule, high-octane insectivore inhabits the damp...