Mike Pingleton
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somuchpingle.bsky.social
Mike Pingleton
@somuchpingle.bsky.social
Naturalist, Author, Peru wildlife guide, all photos mine 📷 Panasonic G9🪲 Host of the So Much Pingle herpetology podcast 🐸 Co-author of "The Field Herping Guide" 📗 Co-creator of HerpMapper (herpmapper.org) 🦎 Herpetofauna blogger at fieldherping.org 🐢
Henry "Buster" Brown served from Okinawa through occupied Japan. He was in the Civilian Conservation Corps before the war, making him a natural fit as a SeaBee ("Construction Battalion"). My grandfather's experience as a SeaBee gave him a life-long career in civil construction. #VeteransDay
November 11, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Giant land snail, Peruvian Amazon. The shell is about the size of a tennis ball.
November 9, 2025 at 5:56 PM
I'm a little achy, feverish and listless from a Covid vax, so I'm just processing photos tonight. For #FrogFriday here's an African Clawed Frog (Xenopus laevis), observed in SE Free State, South Africa. Note the upturned eyes, perfect for laying in shallow water. #herps #frogs #NaturePhotography 🌿
November 8, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Next stop for Air Force One
November 7, 2025 at 4:16 AM
I could smell the mustard and the onions
November 4, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Adding to my Middle Earth life list, the Giant Sungazer (Smaug giganteus), endemic to highland grasslands in South Africa. They live in self-dug burrows and eat invertebrates and small vertebrates. Low and slow birthrates leave them vulnerable. #herps #lizards #NaturePhotography 🌿
November 2, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Rabbit Rabbit! (Ribbet Ribbet?)
Going thru photos for the next book project and here's a rarity - a Leathery Milk Frog (Trachycephalus coriaceus). In 21 trips to NE Peru, I've only seen one. Called "milk frog" b/c skin glands produce a milky, irritating liquid.  #herps #frogs #NaturePhotography 🌿
November 1, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Grandson Phil successfully runs the guillotine gauntlet down the block. Lots of kids in our neighborhood and it’s just so much fun to see them in their costumes. #SpookySeason
November 1, 2025 at 4:10 AM
That night in Greece when beach umbrellas became something...else. #SpookySeason
October 30, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Halt!

Mandatory wallpaper check.
October 28, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Enjoying a little shinrin yoku at the prairie park today. My goal is to walk every day if I’m home and it’s not icy.
October 27, 2025 at 10:03 PM
#FrogFriday: A Three-striped Poison Frog (Ameerega trivittata) from NE Peru. A large poison #frog, up to 50mm (2in) in length. Males care for the eggs, laid terrestrially, and after hatching, they carry the tadpoles on their backs to water. #herps #frogs #NaturePhotography 🌿
October 24, 2025 at 10:03 PM
A Black Witch (Ascalapha odorata), on an island off Baja Sur, MX. These large #moths are often associated with death and misfortune. They are the 'duppy bat' in Jamaica, embodying a lost soul or a soul at unrest (more fun facts on WikiPedia). #inverts #SpookySeason #NaturePhotography 🌿
October 23, 2025 at 10:02 PM
For #SpookySeason, a White Witch Moth (Thysania agrippina) from NE Peru. Long was my quest for the White Witch; I'm glad I took a safety shot with my phone, as it flapped away while I reached for my camera. WWs are among the largest of #moths, with wings nearly 12". #NaturePhotography #inverts 🌿
October 23, 2025 at 3:44 AM
For #TurtleTuesday, a profile of an Indian Flap-shelled Turtle (LIssemys punctata), at night in Goa province, India. "Flap-shelled" refers to flaps of skin on the plastron that partially cover the limbs. A creature of still waters - check out that snorky nose! #herps #turtles #NaturePhotography 🌿
October 21, 2025 at 2:53 PM
A Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia), nectaring on zinnias in the garden a couple weeks ago. Found statewide in Illinois but not a common butterfly, this is the first one I've seen in the yard. #garden #BloomScrolling #insects #GardenParty 🌿
October 21, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Still some petaled faces in the back garden. The tall zinnias were a favorite nectar plant for monarchs and other butterflies, so I will add more next season. There’s still a few monarchs flipping around as of today in mid-October. #BloomScrolling #garden #flowers
October 16, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I’m still trying to adjust after a weekend of camping in southern Illinois. Friends, minimal internet, maximum nature. I’m ready to go back right now. Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea). #frogs #herps 🌿
October 15, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Today I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup.

Fall has officially arrived
October 7, 2025 at 10:55 PM
For #TurtleTuesday, a Black-nobbed Sawback (Graptemys nigrinoda) floating in liquid space. A few years ago, I made a swing through the southern US to see and photograph map turtle species; this turtle was from the Tensas Basin in southern Alabama. #herps #turtles #NaturePhotography 🌿
October 7, 2025 at 2:40 PM
In my inbox today. As Jimmy Durante often said, “everybody wants to get into the act.”

Also, as someone in a constant state of perplexity, I’m thinking that’s a swing and a miss from Venmo’s marketing group. Or did they ask their shiny new AI to name itself?
#WeAreSoScrewed
October 6, 2025 at 8:45 PM
I was installing some refurbished bead-board on the porch ceiling today when this little greenie stopped by to inspect my work. Said he was a foreman but I didn’t see any clipboard or blueprints so… #inverts #InvertFest #insects 🌿
October 4, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Been working on the house all day but I popped in for #FrogFriday! A male Tandy's Sand Frog (Tomopterna tandyi) in a small pool in the mostly dry but aptly named Orange River in the Great Karoo, South Africa. Shy little dude would not call with my light on. #herps #frogs #NaturePhotography 🌿
October 4, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Cape Cobra (Naja nivea), western Free State, South Africa. This serpent was discovered under the canvas floor of one of the tents in our camp. It was safely removed, photographed, and released a short distance away. #herps #snakes #NaturePhotography 🌿
October 3, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Some days (as you all know) it's tough to focus on projects, on creativity and positivity. I hope y'all are hanging in there. Working on photos this pm so here's a Southern Rock Agama (Agama atra) playing peekaboo. W. Free State, South Africa. THAT BLUE! 💙 #herps #lizards #NaturePhotography 🌿
October 2, 2025 at 7:37 PM