Mike Pingleton
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somuchpingle.bsky.social
Mike Pingleton
@somuchpingle.bsky.social
11K followers 850 following 2.5K posts
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 🐢
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somuchpingle.bsky.social
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
Vintage sepia-toned portrait photo of a man in uniform with hat, neck tie, and a coat with several medals pinned to it.
November 11, 2025 at 5:37 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Giant land snail, Peruvian Amazon. The shell is about the size of a tennis ball.
Angled down image of a large snail, crawling across the leaf litter on the forest floor, from left to right. The snail's body is a pale yellowish-brown, and the shell is a mixture of colors, from light reddish brown to yellowish brown to beige.
November 9, 2025 at 5:56 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Angled-down image of a frog lying in shallow, muddy water. The frog's color is a very dark blackish-brown with small streaks of a lighter brown. All four limbs are partially submerged. The eyes are tiny, and are located up on the top of the head.
November 8, 2025 at 2:01 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Next stop for Air Force One
image featuring a highway to the left and a road sign to center-right which reads "Shartlesville 1 mile"
November 7, 2025 at 4:16 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
I could smell the mustard and the onions
A still image from the movie Tombstone. Doc Holliday lies in bed, covered by white blankets. Wyatt Earp sits in a chair next to the bed, looking at Holliday.
November 4, 2025 at 11:40 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Side image of a lizard perched on a rock, facing left with grasslands and hills in the background. The lizard's body color varies from light brown to dark brown. The most striking feature are the scales on the body, limbs, and head, which are enlarged, curved, and end at the tip in a pointy spike.
November 2, 2025 at 9:07 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Side image of a frog perched on a large green leaf, facing left. The frog's principal color is a brownish pink, with the digits featuring a more reddish pink. There are no markings on the head, back, limbs or digits, but the flanks have a number of lighter brownish-pink blotches that are bordered with reddish pink. The iris is also a brownish-pink, and the pupil black and horizontally elliptical.
November 1, 2025 at 6:28 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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
Image of a young trick-or-treater in a cat costume, carrying a plastic jack-o’-lantern full of candy.
November 1, 2025 at 4:10 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
That night in Greece when beach umbrellas became something...else. #SpookySeason
Side image of an outdoor restaurant seating area at night. In the foreground are empty tables and chairs; in the middle ground are tall umbrellas, folded down. The scene is faintly illuminated and spooky, as the umbrellas look like hooded figures.
October 30, 2025 at 3:12 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Halt!

Mandatory wallpaper check.
Image of cell phone wallpaper screen - a microscope image of diatoms. Some are round, others triangular, and a few are five-sided. The colors run from light grays to dark, and light blues to dark.
October 28, 2025 at 2:48 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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.
Side view of a layered outdoor scene with grayish-brown prairie plants in the foreground, followed by a line of three small trees with a few leaves hanging on. Beyond that is a line of light brown prairie grass, with a line of trees on the horizon under a blue sky with a patchwork of clouds.
October 27, 2025 at 10:03 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
#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 🌿
Side image of a brilliantly colored frog, sitting on reddish-brown leaf litter and facing right. The frog's ground color is a deep black, which is interrupted by bright lime green stripes; one runs under the eye to the arm, and then down the arm to the fingers. Another green stripe runs from the nose, over the eye and down the sides of the back, where it connects with broad stripes of bright green on the legs and toes. The center of the back is black, speckled with many small green dots. The belly is all back, as is the eye.
October 24, 2025 at 10:03 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Side image of a large moth perched on a branch, diagonally with head pointed at the lower right, and wings in the upper right and lower left corners. The ground color varies between rusty brown and brown, and there are wavy patters of light and dark on the wings.
October 23, 2025 at 10:02 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
A side view of a large moth on a tree trunk, facing right, wing tips pointing at the top and bottom of the image. The moth's ground color is a soft white, and there are patterns and bandings of pale gray, and others of a darker gray. The wings are long and slender.
October 23, 2025 at 3:44 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Side view of a turtle's head, facing left. The turtle's head is partially retracted into the loose and wrinkled skin of the neck. The ground color of the head is a pale blue, almost a powder blue, with a faint touch of green. Overlying this are blotches of a dark charcoal gray; one large blotch covers the nose, another the eyes, and then there are smaller spots and streaks elsewhere on the head and neck. The nose is elongated, resembling that of a tapir. The iris is bright gold, and the pupil is round and black.
October 21, 2025 at 2:53 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Top-down image of a butterfly with wings fully opened, perched on yellow petals. The wings of the butterfly are composed of spots of browns, brownish-yellows, and brownish-oranges, each bordered in black. The effect is much like a stained glass window.
October 21, 2025 at 4:39 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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
Side view of a flower garden with red, orange, yellow, and blue petals.
October 16, 2025 at 5:37 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Side image of a bright green frog clings almost vertically to the stem of a plant. The frog’s greenness is interrupted by a white line running from the snout to the back legs.
October 15, 2025 at 11:19 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
Today I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup.

Fall has officially arrived
Angled down image of vegetable beef soup. Visible are carrots, potatoes, peas, corn, beef, and mushrooms, in a rich tomato and beef stock.
October 7, 2025 at 10:55 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Angled down image of a turtle floating at the surface in yellowish-brown water, and facing left. The turtle's shell is a dark brownish-black, but most of that is obscured by a rusty-brown coating of algae. The head, limbs, and tail are black, each with a number of thin stripes of bright yellow. One more feature - there are several raised scutes on the center of the shell that look like swept-back horns or knobs.
October 7, 2025 at 2:40 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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
Screen shot of an email from Venmo, about their new AI service named Perplexity. “Score 1 free year of unlimited AI-powered search”
October 6, 2025 at 8:45 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Angled down view of a lime-green insect on a grained wood surface, facing left. It resembles a walking stick - long, spindly legs and a slim body.
October 4, 2025 at 10:33 PM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Angled down image of a frog resting in an inch of water and orange silt, facing right. The frog's ground color is a mottling of browns and tans, with a number of dark brown blotches on the body and legs. The eyes are large and bulbous, the irises are gold, and the round pupils are dark black. Fingers and toes are buried in the silt.
October 4, 2025 at 3:23 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Angled-down photo of a large snake, in a large open loop, head and tail pointing towards the lower right. The snake's ground color is a light sandy brown, from the head to nearly the tail, where it gets considerably darker. The snake's color matches the soil.
October 3, 2025 at 2:16 AM
somuchpingle.bsky.social
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 🌿
Side image of a lizard's head peeking up over the edge of a boulder and facing left. Blue is the predominant color on the lizard, with each scale colored a different shade of blue from light to dark. There is a ring of brown scales around the eye, and the eardrum is also brown as well.
October 2, 2025 at 7:37 PM