Melissa McMasters
@melissamactn.bsky.social
Naturalist, writer, photographer, non-profiteer, Memphian. If it flies, I probably love it (unless it's a mosquito). Words and photos mainly at https://www.overtonpark.org/naturezen
It was worth getting a new wardrobe made of goldenrod seeds to spend time with some LeConte's sparrows this morning. 🪶
November 8, 2025 at 10:20 PM
It was worth getting a new wardrobe made of goldenrod seeds to spend time with some LeConte's sparrows this morning. 🪶
When it starts to feel like fall, all I want to do is hop on a plane to South Texas and disappear into a cloud of butterflies. Since that's probably not in the cards for this year, I'm drowning my wistfulness in pictures of last year's guava skippers.
#butterflies #Inverts #pollinators
#butterflies #Inverts #pollinators
November 6, 2025 at 10:34 PM
When it starts to feel like fall, all I want to do is hop on a plane to South Texas and disappear into a cloud of butterflies. Since that's probably not in the cards for this year, I'm drowning my wistfulness in pictures of last year's guava skippers.
#butterflies #Inverts #pollinators
#butterflies #Inverts #pollinators
This is a delightful thread, to which I submit So-Over-It Snapping Turtle:
October 31, 2025 at 8:55 PM
This is a delightful thread, to which I submit So-Over-It Snapping Turtle:
So harmless-looking when they're just walking around like normal!
October 31, 2025 at 1:10 AM
So harmless-looking when they're just walking around like normal!
A little funhouse nightmare for Halloween Eve: I was familiar with how Eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillars use their false faces to scare off spiders and such, but I was not prepared for how they appear vertically!
#Inverts #butterflies
#Inverts #butterflies
October 31, 2025 at 1:08 AM
A little funhouse nightmare for Halloween Eve: I was familiar with how Eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillars use their false faces to scare off spiders and such, but I was not prepared for how they appear vertically!
#Inverts #butterflies
#Inverts #butterflies
After we watched each other for a while, this bold jumping spider tucked up into a leaf and sat like an expectant kindergartener at show-and-tell. Wish I'd had some candy (flies) to give it. #Arachtober
October 20, 2025 at 1:01 AM
After we watched each other for a while, this bold jumping spider tucked up into a leaf and sat like an expectant kindergartener at show-and-tell. Wish I'd had some candy (flies) to give it. #Arachtober
It's the last chance for romance for the blue-faced meadowhawks, and the ladies are in serious demand. I saw two females (both actively paired up) and about two dozen males in the same strip of woods!
#Inverts #dragonflies
#Inverts #dragonflies
October 12, 2025 at 12:31 AM
It's the last chance for romance for the blue-faced meadowhawks, and the ladies are in serious demand. I saw two females (both actively paired up) and about two dozen males in the same strip of woods!
#Inverts #dragonflies
#Inverts #dragonflies
September 19, 2025 at 5:28 PM
I've seen a lot of leafcutter bees with their abdomens curled up as they forage, but never quite to *this* extent. #overachiever #bees #Inverts
September 7, 2025 at 8:47 PM
I've seen a lot of leafcutter bees with their abdomens curled up as they forage, but never quite to *this* extent. #overachiever #bees #Inverts
Not an ABA bird, but the tufted coquettes in Trinidad & Tobago are some of my favorites. They have to find their own little garden spot because the other hummingbirds bully them off the feeders. Some of the tiniest birds in the world! 🪶
September 6, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Not an ABA bird, but the tufted coquettes in Trinidad & Tobago are some of my favorites. They have to find their own little garden spot because the other hummingbirds bully them off the feeders. Some of the tiniest birds in the world! 🪶
Ran into my favorite red-tailed hawk today after not seeing much of him over the summer. He would like you to know it is so hot in Memphis and you should never come here in August. 🪶
August 17, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Ran into my favorite red-tailed hawk today after not seeing much of him over the summer. He would like you to know it is so hot in Memphis and you should never come here in August. 🪶
On to the next one... This pipevine swallowtail didn't even bother to tuck its tongue back in when bouncing from one ironweed bloom to another.
#butterflies #Inverts
#butterflies #Inverts
August 14, 2025 at 10:06 PM
On to the next one... This pipevine swallowtail didn't even bother to tuck its tongue back in when bouncing from one ironweed bloom to another.
#butterflies #Inverts
#butterflies #Inverts
Question for #bees folk: I've observed this new-to-me bee for the last few days. I suspect it's Epimelissodes compta, which I read specializes on evening-primrose. We have some of that in this garden, but so far I've only seen it nectar-rob Mexican petunia. Am I on the wrong track? (Memphis, TN)
August 11, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Question for #bees folk: I've observed this new-to-me bee for the last few days. I suspect it's Epimelissodes compta, which I read specializes on evening-primrose. We have some of that in this garden, but so far I've only seen it nectar-rob Mexican petunia. Am I on the wrong track? (Memphis, TN)
This time of year I often see buckeyes at the end of their lives right alongside perfectly-fresh ones. They seem to be able to persist for a while on tattered wings. I like them both ways: as a symbol of endurance or of cheerful energy.
#Inverts #butterflies
#Inverts #butterflies
August 10, 2025 at 8:25 PM
This time of year I often see buckeyes at the end of their lives right alongside perfectly-fresh ones. They seem to be able to persist for a while on tattered wings. I like them both ways: as a symbol of endurance or of cheerful energy.
#Inverts #butterflies
#Inverts #butterflies
August 7, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Once in a while, a brown booby will show up very far from shore and treat us landlocked folks to a glimpse of those distinctive seabird tail feathers. This one has been haunting the cypress trees at a lake in Haywood County, Tennessee for the past week or so. 🪶
July 28, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Once in a while, a brown booby will show up very far from shore and treat us landlocked folks to a glimpse of those distinctive seabird tail feathers. This one has been haunting the cypress trees at a lake in Haywood County, Tennessee for the past week or so. 🪶
There are so many ridiculously cool flies I wanna give their due! Off the top of my head, there's this bee-grabber (Myopa clausa, I think) that sits on a flower waving its arms in what looks like yoga poses. Possibly a courtship display? So freaking cool to watch.
July 26, 2025 at 12:25 AM
There are so many ridiculously cool flies I wanna give their due! Off the top of my head, there's this bee-grabber (Myopa clausa, I think) that sits on a flower waving its arms in what looks like yoga poses. Possibly a courtship display? So freaking cool to watch.
A few years ago at this time, I was exploring Oregon and had high hopes of running into a Melissa blue butterfly, because I think it's fun to find creatures that share your name. I found this one along the Powder River, looking glittery and fresh. I would love to visit again!
#Inverts #butterflies
#Inverts #butterflies
July 24, 2025 at 12:07 AM
A few years ago at this time, I was exploring Oregon and had high hopes of running into a Melissa blue butterfly, because I think it's fun to find creatures that share your name. I found this one along the Powder River, looking glittery and fresh. I would love to visit again!
#Inverts #butterflies
#Inverts #butterflies
We planted some mountain mint at our park's pollinator garden this summer, and every day is a Hymenopteran party now. Here are just a few #bees from this morning's check-in.
July 20, 2025 at 9:13 PM
We planted some mountain mint at our park's pollinator garden this summer, and every day is a Hymenopteran party now. Here are just a few #bees from this morning's check-in.
Hard to believe such a fuzzy little nugget grows up to be so sleek and elegant! (Yellow-billed cuckoo fledgling and its parent, Memphis, TN) 🪶
July 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Hard to believe such a fuzzy little nugget grows up to be so sleek and elegant! (Yellow-billed cuckoo fledgling and its parent, Memphis, TN) 🪶
I had to search a little more widely to find orange featherleg (Platycnemis acutipennis), but I’m so glad I ventured south to Nouvelle-Aquitane to find it. The male's combo of a bright orange body and ice-blue eyes is one I haven’t seen, and it was my favorite of the trip! #DamselflyJuly -fin-
July 13, 2025 at 6:47 PM
I had to search a little more widely to find orange featherleg (Platycnemis acutipennis), but I’m so glad I ventured south to Nouvelle-Aquitane to find it. The male's combo of a bright orange body and ice-blue eyes is one I haven’t seen, and it was my favorite of the trip! #DamselflyJuly -fin-
Finally, the gorgeous featherlegs. Their legs have wider tibiae than most other damsels, and they’re edged in white, giving them a feathery appearance. The blue featherleg, or white-legged damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes), was the most common insect I saw on my trip.
July 13, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Finally, the gorgeous featherlegs. Their legs have wider tibiae than most other damsels, and they’re edged in white, giving them a feathery appearance. The blue featherleg, or white-legged damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes), was the most common insect I saw on my trip.