Newt's noodles

[bugsnapz]

Hi Newt,

You have taken some fantastic pictures, I am well impressed especially the birds and Carpenter bee in flight cos that is hard to do at the best of times.

Keep up the good work.

Bugsnapz.

[Newt]

Thank you very much! That means a lot to me coming from such an accomplished photographer.


I must admit I got a lucky break on that bee. He was hovering in place, totally unconcerned by my presence, about a foot from a female of the same species who was hanging out in the grass. I guess he was trying to guard her from other males. Anyway, I was able to get a ton of photos of him from the minimum focal distance of my lens.

[A.Garcia]

Newt, I had not seen these paintings, I love them! They capture the colors well- I never fail to be amazed by the colors on barn swallows and bobolinks when I see them. My favorites may be the tortoise and swallow, I also like the fur on the bat and squirrel. The amphibians are also nice.

This makes me want to do some artwork. I'm afraid my reference photos have wildly outpaced my art-making. Hopefully I'll have something to share in the future.

[Newt]

Thank you, A.Garcia! I look forward to seeing your works. I need to get cracking on some more of my own.

[bugsnapz]

Hi Newt,
Loving your pictures again, well done. I live in England and we have dragonflies but not the same colourfull ones you have there. I love the saddlebach caterpillar too. Our common darters are either reddish or brown.
It is close to winter so I will be looking at fungi photographs instead of insects for the next couple of months.

Bugsnapz.

[Newt]

Thank you again, Bugsnapz! Sorry for the very late reply. I'll try to make it up to you with more bugs!


Here are some recent photos from beautiful Tennessee:


Bessbug



stag beetle larva



flathead mayflies, caddisflies, etc.



Red Paper Wasps



Eastern Tailed Blues




Xystodesmid millipede

[brontodocus]

Wonderful! It's a pity we don't have passalids here.

[Jetoar]

Wonderful images  .

[Newt]

Thanks guys!


Passalids are fun! We have only one species of bessbug here, but it's one of our most abundant large beetles.


They're perfect "insect ambassadors." The adults look a little intimidating but are so slow-moving, inoffensive, and comical they soon win people over, and the fact that they show parental care makes them very appealing to a lot of people.


Here are some fish from a recent night-time walk along a small stream that feeds into the lower Tennessee River.


Banded Sculpin



Fantail Darter



Logperch



Rainbow Darter



Pirate Perch



Male (Golden?) Redhorse



Female of same



Largescale Stonerollers

[Newt]

Fowler's Toad



Cope's Gray Treefrog



Bombardier Beetles swarming a scrap of hot dog



spawning gar -  think they're Spotted Gar, but I didn't get a good enough look/photo to rule out Shortnose

[brontodocus]

Excellent photos, Newt! It's been a while since I've seen any bombardier beetles in the wild, they are fairly uncommon here. Oddly, they look almost identical in Germany. I assume those are Brachinus, too?

[bmathison1972]

Excellent photos, Newt! It's been a while since I've seen any bombardier beetles in the wild, they are fairly uncommon here. Oddly, they look almost identical in Germany. I assume those are Brachinus, too?

they look identical EVERYWHERE....lol

[Newt]

Brontodocus - Thanks! Yes, all US bombardiers are Brachinus, subgenus Neobrachinus. I have no idea which species these are. There were lots of them on this stretch of reservoir shore, along a narrow beach of coarse sand and abundant pleurocerid shells with a few pieces of driftwood. I didn't see any nearby on stretches of shore with muddy substrate or areas covered in driftwood.

[Jetoar]

Gars are one of my favorite fresh water fish  .

[Newt]

Mine too! I'm lucky enough to live in an area with three gar species - shortnose, spotted, and longnose gar. There are also alligator gar not too far west of me.

[Newt]

Here's a maquette I made of the Cretaceous marine turtle Toxochelys weeksi.

[stemturtle]

A Cretaceous marine turtle from Tennessee! Thanks for sharing your talented sculpting, Newt. 

[Newt]

Thanks, Stemturtle, I was hoping you'd see this one! This is just a crude maquette to be used as a model for a painting, but I may make a more refined version later.


Here's a little southern two-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) I met recently:

[brontodocus]

Excellent Toxochelys sculpt, Newt!

[Newt]

Thank you, Brontodocus! By the way, have you noticed your ears burning?