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Tom Astle

@tjalamont.bsky.social

810 followers 161 following 749 posts

Writer and nature photographer, especially macro photography of arthropods. Fan of California, Montana, the rest of the planet. Photo website: www.tomastlephotography.com/

Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Seconded, and her book “What an Owl Knows” is fascinating, too.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Amazing - crazy antennae 🐰

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Male flame skimmer dragonfly through vintage glass. Shot at 1/2500th sec., so no motion blur, but this 1964 lens isn't as sharp (esp. wide open) as modern lenses, and the lack of coatings means you get tons of flare and internal reflections. But I like the dreamy look and it's fun to play with. 🐙

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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These look like red eared sliders. Males are smaller than females and this looks like males approaching a female who’s not in the mood.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Best Antennae Award goes to this lined June beetle (Polyphylla sp., probably the Ten-lined JB, P. decemlineata).
🐙🌿 #insects

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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I feel this intensely. I have looked everywhere for years and keep running into people who casually say, “Oh yeah, I’ve seen a bunch of those.”

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Detail from a T-shirt I just bought at Urban Family brewing in Seattle, who at some point created a beer called “Raccoon-Level Dexterity”

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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I found this beetle trapped in an abandoned spider web and freed it, because it was essentially in the spider equivalent of a ghost net. Also, it was a very cool beetle - a rugose stag beetle, Sinodendron rugosum.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Fireworks over Lake Union in Seattle last night

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Reposted by Tom Astle

Jen Cross's avatar Jen Cross @jencross.bsky.social
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Happy 4th of July! In the wise words of Ben Franklin: The Bald Eagle is a Bird of bad moral Character. Too lazy to fish for himself. The Turkey is a more respectable Bird, though vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would attack a Brit who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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A Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) in my backyard. Based on his "None shall pass" attitude, I assume he was a male. He chased off another mourning cloak, a giant swallowtail, a hummingbird, and is pretty sure he kicked my ass, too. Taken with a 300 mm. lens for my own safety. #insects 🌿 🐙

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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You can't come in, it's our fort, we made it 🐜 🐜

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Thanks, Justin. I have my own photo website, but no, I have never tried putting anything on Shutterstock.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Bumblebee resting in early evening on the edge of a sunflower, Tennessee 🐙 🌿

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Same. If there’s a booster, I will get it.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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So idiosyncratic. My doctor said by getting it now, at least I will have good immunity for a while. Apparently the older vaccines don’t work well against this most recent variant. Hopefully I’m good until the updated booster is out.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Glad to hear it! That was my experience too. Felt better on day three, negative test on day seven. Still clearing my lungs, however.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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I am a bit later than I'd planned with these, which have become a yearly tradition, but here are my macrophoto flags for #Pride month. Each flag is made from my own photos of real animals (and for extra bug-nerd value, there are no repeated arthropod orders in either flag). 🌿 🐙 #insects #arthropods

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Question Mark butterfly caterpillar (Polygonia interrogationis). The butterflies have two silver marks on the underside of the hindwings (a dot and curved line) that resemble a question mark. They also resemble a semicolon, but that name didn't stick because too many people misuse semicolons. 🌿 🐙

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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It was quite a tug of war - each pulling in the opposite direction. The spider was really strong especially considering the size of the mantis.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Ha! I’m certain that if the spider had bitten it somewhere “juicier” the mantis would have died quickly and been spider lunch. (As it was, the battle lasted 20 minutes or more iirc)

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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I was in Borneo with Nicky and have photos of that Hyllus jumper & mantis! I assumed the spider would prevail but finally it let go & the mantis escaped (don't know if it survived). I wonder if by biting the compound eye vs. elsewhere, venom had trouble spreading into the mantis's body & killing it?

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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On the L is my first synchronous firefly (Photinus carolinus) photo. I got to thinking about how the whole experience felt, forest and fireflies together. I also wondered how I might make an image that looked a bit different from others I'd seen. So I processed it in b&w. I really like it. 🐙 🌿

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Our dog does not scratch at the door. Eddie the tortoise, on the other hand… 🐢

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Oh no! I also got it upon returning from Tennessee. I hope yours isn't too bad. I'm just emerging from it. When I first tested last Thursday, the test line turned dark pink within ten seconds. :(

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Thanks - I think not everyone realizes that these animals are not "just fish." They have personalities, complex behaviors, can be very interactive, and many are incredibly long-lived.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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These blue specks are "dismalites" (named for Dismals Canyon in Alabama). Unrelated to fireflies (which are beetles), dismalites are tiny, worm-like larvae of a small fly (Orfelia fultoni). They emit a constant, soft blue glow to attract prey. I found them to be magical, and not dismal at all. 🌿 🐙

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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When I was out of town in late May, my aquarium heater malfunctioned, overheating the tank. These fish survived, but I lost a big Madagascar cichlid and all 4 of my clown loaches. The biggest was 9” long and the youngest one was at least 15 yrs old - the others over 20. Still heartbroken about it.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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It still has good articles, but tbh its go-to has always been “Why Everything Is Worse Than You Think, Especially That Thing You Like”

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Reposted by Tom Astle

Reposted by Tom Astle

Bugge-Finder Private Newton Pulsifer 🏳️‍⚧️'s avatar Bugge-Finder Private Newton Pulsifer 🏳️‍⚧️ @apsciencebydan.bsky.social
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Not sure I've ever posted this pair together: Urodus parvula moths make this gorgeous cocoon, and are handsome black creatures themselves. I found the unopened cocoon early last year, and the moth emerged some time later. It's such a cool creation. 🖤 🌿🧪🦋

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Face - if you zoom in you can see the cluster of small black eyes on the front

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Actually, they do come in blue - when lit by UV light.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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One of my favorite spiders, a beautiful green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans). They don't use a web to catch prey, but instead are ambush hunters - this young one was hanging out on a sunflower waiting for visiting insects. I never get tired of photographing this species. 🐙 🌿 #arachnids

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Interesting that there are two main color forms - glad we saw the purple one.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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An ant (Myrmica punctiventris - ty @alexwild.bsky.social for the ID) atop a snail in Great Smoky Mountains NP. The ant stood in one spot and didn't seem to be bothering the snail or feeding on anything that had dripped on the shell. I might have heard it humming "Slow Ride" to itself, not sure. 🌿🐌 🐜

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Wonderful shots, as always - I’m glad you included that purple beetle, I’ve been curious about what it was.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Possible, fun, egregious, banned

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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AI is the lawn darts of technology.

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Remember toad-licking? (Some toads secrete a toxin containing a hallucinogen. Plus chemicals that make you violently ill. Don't lick toads.) Some fire-colored beetles (Pyrochroidae) lick toxic blister beetles. Not to get high (probably) but to pass the toxin to females who pass it to their eggs. 🐙🌿

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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A pretty little leaf beetle sp. with subtle metallic colors, seen in Tennessee. I really love finding boring brown bugs because up close they are always anything but. #insects 🐙 🌿

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Here is your Sunday Spider - or at least the spider's front door. Found in a crack in a fence post, Tennessee. The diameter of the opening is about half that of a pencil eraser.

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Reposted by Tom Astle

Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Wow, that’s a Gregorian chant of a name

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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It’s a warm evening, so I used the hose to water the redbud we planted this spring. My wife said, are you doing this for the plant, or is it really for the wasps? Meaning, making fresh mud so the mud daubers can have it for the nests they are building on our back doorway. I cannot tell a lie…

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Tom Astle's avatar Tom Astle @tjalamont.bsky.social
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Saturday #Caturday - I found this 'pillar (new to me) in Tennessee on a pawpaw leaf. It's a zebra swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus). A couple of folks in our photo workshop were excited to see it - apparently they often hide in the leaf litter in the daytime and can be tough to find. #insects 🌿 🐙

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