Macro photographer, cat slave, dedicated to flood your feed with cool spiders, insects, snakes, or anything small that moves.https://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3mbawg4b3xs24Please take some time to look through some of the discoveries photographed in 2025. It should interest some invertebrate enthusiasts. yes? yes? bit.ly/nickybay2025 https://bit.ly/nickybay202531 Dec 2025 03:30 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbawg4b3xs24https://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3m7zxkx6ag22iAlbinistic Scorpiops sp. from Laos.15 Dec 2025 15:37 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7zxkx6ag22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3m7xfxomdps2cOh, you're tired after taking care of your one kid for the entire day?14 Dec 2025 15:16 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7xfxomdps2chttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3m6zdqwtt3c2yI finally got to observe these tiny theridiosomatids that live at the edge of streams, thanks to Yuya Suzuki. Then my 9-year-old showed me her comic book detailing Wendilgarda's hunting strategies to tell me what a noob I am. 😱😱😱02 Dec 2025 16:17 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6zdqwtt3c2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3m6rouqjkl22nThis is the Sunburst Candy Spider from Thailand. Not AI (sucks to have to declare this). Very real and had been on my wish list for a long time. The taxonomic placement is unclear, so we are leaving it at Cyrtarachninae.29 Nov 2025 15:14 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6rouqjkl22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3m6cjvqf74s24Blind cave spiders~ This occurs due to the process of regressive evolution. In an environment without light, vision provides no advantage in finding prey or avoiding predators. The loss of their eyes means that energy and resources once used for eyes are instead allocated to other traits.23 Nov 2025 14:36 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6cjvqf74s24https://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3m4lccczqms2aMeet bob the red velvet mite01 Nov 2025 15:23 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4lccczqms2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3m4lc7p7fo22aTarantula foot-pad. Who knew they could be so pretty?01 Nov 2025 15:22 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4lc7p7fo22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3m4g5y6k4fc2pBeen looking for a fresh specimen of Leucauge sarawakensis for a long time! Each time we found one, someone walked into its web. Hence, the ex situ shots.30 Oct 2025 14:22 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4g5y6k4fc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3m3vqokjrns2oA collection of pretty stag beetles that fight with their mandibles. I had one grasping my lens before. They are ridiculously strong! bit.ly/lucanidae https://bit.ly/lucanidae24 Oct 2025 01:42 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3vqokjrns2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3ltmn35dvu22wSuperman wannabe10 Jul 2025 15:22 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltmn35dvu22whttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lmpbfixehs2kHere are 3 incredibly beautiful mantids that I saw last month. Toxodera fimbriata Paratoxodera meggitti Hymenopus coronatus13 Apr 2025 14:34 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmpbfixehs2khttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lmpbcukti22kAll of them are Dundubia vaginata.13 Apr 2025 14:33 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmpbcukti22khttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lml5bpnoes2xHere are 3 beautiful mantidflies that I saw last month! They are neither mantises nor flies; their larvae are parasitoids of spider eggs, and these adults appear to mimic wasps. Euclimacia rufocincta Tuberonotha sp. Euclimacia sp.11 Apr 2025 23:10 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lml5bpnoes2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lmkapsl6g22vA pair of treehoppers tending to their eggs. The dorsal fin seems to be variable, as we've seen individuals nearby without any dorsal fin at all. Some also have a red longitudinal stripe on their wings. Pyrgauchenia sp. Gunung Trusmadi, Sabah, Malaysia11 Apr 2025 14:39 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lmkapsl6g22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lknugvtyrc2mBlack-femur Selenocosmia, a mini gorilla. EM10m4, Laowa 50mm 2:1, dual Raynox, 2.1mm cctv fisheye, lighted with Godox V350 diffused, handheld without looking through the viewfinder nor LCD screen. Working distance about 1cm to its face.18 Mar 2025 14:20 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lknugvtyrc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lh4r5aydi22kThe primary eyes of spiders are known to exhibit a pigment ring shortly after ecdysis (moulting). During this phase, the lens grows until the pigment ring is no longer visible. The pigment rings are typically more visible in salticids and deinopids.01 Feb 2025 14:50 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lh4r5aydi22khttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lg6jw6iwcc22This is the mystery spider egg sac covered with a veil of pink silk that was determined to be woven by a Poltys based on several rounds of discussion on iNaturalist and Twitter. Thanks to @arachnonaut.bsky.social for the lead!20 Jan 2025 14:21 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lg6jw6iwcc22https://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lg3xshqxak25The biology of scale insects is a mystery to me. What's their life cycle like? How do they eat? How do they mate? How do they lay eggs? What do their larvae look like? How do they even move?19 Jan 2025 13:51 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lg3xshqxak25https://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lftopsqvm22lHas anyone seen and identified these large (~10mm) male araneids before? Longitudinal fovea, shoulder horns and stout tibia II with a distal pair of spines. Not many araneids have large males so that narrows down quite a bit. Specimens found in Singapore.16 Jan 2025 06:47 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lftopsqvm22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lfqfp6cpk22lTaking a pause on lantern bugs. Not sure what's next so here's a pleasing fungus beetle (why pleasing?) from the Peruvian Amazon. It's blue, so enjoy it! Probably Cypherotylus debauvei, previously under the genus Gibbifer.14 Jan 2025 23:28 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lfqfp6cpk22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lehchcbysc22I happen to photograph stuff other than lantern bugs. Which is your favourite? https://www.nickybay.com/macro-highlights-the-best-of-2024/29 Dec 2024 15:11 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lehchcbysc22https://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3le6frnuon22qNot a parent caring for its young, but 2 species of lantern bugs from Ecuador. The smaller Scaralis cf. nigronotata had scampered under Scaralis cf. picta for shelter. Some trees attract more lantern bugs. We found at least 4 species on this tree alone. Yummy sap?26 Dec 2024 02:16 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3le6frnuon22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3ldqrgbgmek2bPyrops clavatus is typically covered with a white waxy layer, but has one of the largest bulbous tips at the end of its "snout". Are you all sick of my lantern bug posts yet? What should I focus on next? 😅20 Dec 2024 16:07 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3ldqrgbgmek2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3ldiveacyak26I found this beautiful pair of Pyrops intricatus on this tree and waited for several hours in hope that they would... you know you know. But it didn't happen.17 Dec 2024 12:56 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3ldiveacyak26https://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3ld6x5phecc2fZanna nobilis is a unique saw-toothed lantern bug with multiple tubercles lining its "snout". If you look up close, you would see patterns like those found on a blue-ringed octopus.13 Dec 2024 14:02 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3ld6x5phecc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lcxmorrxck2fPyrops whiteheadi is endemic to Borneo and pretty common in Sabah. It sports a shorter and crooked looking blue "snout" with pretty yellow galaxy-spots adoring its green-veined wings.10 Dec 2024 16:06 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcxmorrxck2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lcnfdedj3k2wLantern bugs usually exhibit bright and beautiful colours while in flight. That's when their hind wings are exposed. Sometimes they may open their wings for a split second, especially when wet. Here's Pyrops spinolae photographed in the rain. This particular morph exists only in Northern Thailand.06 Dec 2024 14:28 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcnfdedj3k2whttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lcic66y37s2rIt is the month of Christmas and I'm spamming lantern bug photos so....04 Dec 2024 13:48 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcic66y37s2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/nickybay.bsky.social/post/3lcdiexjq5c2tMany species of lantern bugs tend to roost on the same host tree. On this particular tree in the Ecuadorian Amazon, we saw at least 4 species of lantern bugs in the day and another few others at night. Here's a rockband of Scaralis cf. picta.02 Dec 2024 15:56 +0000at://did:plc:4vbpx2mcgj4m3qoqcsi6uk65/app.bsky.feed.post/3lcdiexjq5c2t