Bob Danley
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Bob Danley
@imagewildlife.bsky.social
3.3K followers 1.4K following 1.2K posts
Photographer, naturalist - advocate for wildlife
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imagewildlife.bsky.social
Get out seed catalogs or yard photos; start determining what/where you'll plant flowers 2026. #Butterflies, like pictured Red Admiral, will use your plantings. Or don't weed. Stinging nettle is a larval host; yup, a native considered a weed. Allow a patch in moist spot, it might raise a family.
Red Admiral is a two and a half inch butterfly. Dramatically colored with a diagonal slash of red-orange in the middle of both dorsal forewings. Additional band of red-orange along trailing edge of dorsal hindwings. Otherwise, the wings are coal black with some small white spotting on the outer half of the dorsal forewings. The ventral surface of the forewings is similarly colored/patterned (muted) as the dorsal surface. However, the ventral hindwings are much different than the dorsal surface. Here the base color is brownish with small 'squiggly' patches of blue, green, violet and chestnut. As pictured it is nectaring from Rubber Rabbitbrush, one of the few plants still flowering late summer. Pyle and LeBar (2018) have recorded this butterfly coming to Ageratum, hyssop, mums, dahlia, rotting apples and pears. Distribution: Central America, North America and Eurasia. Map here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?subview=map&taxon_id=49133
December 2, 2025 at 11:39 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
This organic brilliance is seen primarily during June. Coville's Paintbrush is an endemic of c/s Idaho and w-c Montana. The glowing red parts of this plant aren't flowers! Instead they're bracts surrounding tiny flowers. Habitat: Stony, granitic soil of slopes and summits (Montana Field Guide).
Coville's Paintbrush is an endemic to central/southern Idaho and west-central Montana. It ranges from four to eight inches in height. Short, soft hairs cover leaves and stem. Green leaves are distinct: deeply lobed and very narrow, measure from half to two inches in length, one to two pairs of lobes. Bunched and compact flower bracts similar; lanceolate in form with one to two side lobes and red instead of green (Lesica 2012).
December 2, 2025 at 8:35 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Posting of Saffron-winged Meadowhawk is a reminder there is no time like the present to fly, for us metaphorically. And okay, all #dragonfly activity in the temperate parts of the country is not happening (winter). Still the message remains, think then take action. Build good habits towards 2026 :-)
Saffron-winged Meadowhawk is one of fourteen Sympetrum species (aka Meadowhawks) found in North America (Paulson 2009). Though only an inch and a half in length adult males are mostly red which assists finding them. Red restricted to the tubular abdomen which has a black slash on top of segments eight and nine. The unpatterned thorax is brown with reddish tones. Legs are a random mix of brown and black. Eyes are dark red with a red-toned tan face. Veins of leading wing edge are saffron colored (see image). Habitat consists of still water wetlands thick with aquatic vegetation. Flight season for Montana is July into October. Distribution: northern half of U.S. into southern Canada.
December 2, 2025 at 12:19 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
What better way to herald the beginning of December by posting Trumpet #Lichen. Considered "very common" in Montana on a wide spectrum of substrates (McCune et al 2014). In this case it is growing on moss over wood. Widespread distribution: North America and Eurasia.
Trumpet Lichen may reach an inch in height. The podetia is a light green in color. Thallus are a darker green in color and small in size < 10 mm (McCune and Geiser 2009). Cups are smooth looking because of powder-like soredia covering. Note lack of squamules on cups and podetia. Apothecia occasional in presence.
December 1, 2025 at 9:12 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
More holiday colors from a 2025 #wildflower favorite: Striped Coralroot. Found growing in rich, organic soils of shaded coniferous forests of western Montana. Not common for me to find. No large groupings, usually a couple together.
Striped Coralroot is somewhere between six and sixteen inches in height (Schiemann 2005). It is leafless, it is a saprophyte...nutrients gained from soil fungi, with a pinkish-tan stem. Seven to twenty-five flowers spiral staircase around the stem. Small flowers have pinkish sepals and two upper petals that are striped about three times with purplish stripes. Lower petal mostly purple, unlobed and wider than other petals. Tiny yellow pistil and stamen at base of 'column'.
November 30, 2025 at 10:43 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
A favorite 2025 #wildflower with Christmas colors 🎄Spotted Coralroot distributed over American West, upper Midwest and Northeast U.S. Myco-heterotrophic plants growing in moist to wet coniferous forest (Lesica 2012). Stunning in the wild :-)
Spotted Coralroot is a six to twenty inch tall orchid. Peak flowering for this perennial is June and July (Montana Field Guide). Lance-shaped flower sepals (3 petal-like) and two petals are reddish-purple. A third petal (wide and liplike) is white spotted with red (Brandenburg 2010). Real small yellow stamens and pistil are on a central 'column' (sepal-like). Single flowers spiral around upper third of plant. Crude measure of entire flower structure is less than half an inch.
November 30, 2025 at 3:42 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
A favorite 2025 #fungi species: Zeller's Bolete. Can be found 'fruiting' late October in the Pacific Northwest. Habitat generalist: anywhere in/near conifers. Holiday colors 😊🎅
Zeller's Bolete can be found along trails (upper left image) and off trail in/under forest floor debris (upper right). Dark cap color, brownish-purple to blackish-purple makes it hard to detect looking down. Look for the streaked reddish stem when viewing from an angle. Easy to separate from other mushroom species; look for the yellow tubes/pores under the cap instead of gills. Cap ranges from an inch to two and half inch diameter. Stem is one to three inches in length (Siegel and Schwarz 2024).
November 29, 2025 at 9:15 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Recap of favorite 2025 wildlife species: Ear-pick Fungus. Really different, but hard to find...usually growing out of Douglas Fir cones! If found look under cap for icicle-like spines that produce spores. Cool little #fungus.
Ear-pick Fungus has a cap that is a dark brown color with a lighter beige colored edge. Plus it is covered with fine brown hairs and may reach a diameter of about one inch. The underside of the cap is occupied by whitish, closely packed spines (icicle-like). These structures produce spores. Stem is dark brown and hairy. May reach a length of about two inches. Unusual in that it connects to the cap by the edge, not centered. Reference: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=55175
November 29, 2025 at 5:23 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Have a great holiday everybody!
Image of an adult male Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) displaying in open Ponderosa Pine forest (Firefly generated background). Display features: vertically splayed beige-tipped brown feathers, iridescent brownish feathers reflecting greenish tones, naked bluish head and face, the rich red, bare-skinned neck "wattle" is inflated, drooping brown-barred wings and dull pink legs and feet.
November 27, 2025 at 6:28 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Why so much fuss over American Prairie? dailymontanan.com/2025/11/25/w...
Why so much fuss over American Prairie? • Daily Montanan
Columnist Bill Scheneider wonders why American Prairie is the target of politicians' ire when they're just exercising private property ownership.
dailymontanan.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:34 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Encountered Split-peg Lichen (Cladonia cariosa) the other day. Somewhat distinctive from other pixie cups (generic name for genus). Common on moss over rock or soil in western Montana. Well named, note the longitudinal fissures of the podetia (i.e. stem).
Image of the extreme fissured podetia of Split-peg Lichen. Podetia colored a greenish-gray. Usually less than reported one inch height. Image of Split-peg Lichen growing out of a small patch of moss over rock. Literature reports this species is rarely found growing out of moss over wood (McCune and Goward (1995). Macro image of Split-peg Lichen apothecia. Often specimens bear apothecia (McCune and Geiser 2009). Usually dark brown in color and found growing out of the apex of the podetia, i.e. capitate. Image of Split-peg Lichen growing out of disturbed soil, common situation. Note the real small thallus barely visible at base of lichen. This is a field mark for separating from two other similar Cladonia species (McCune and Geiser 2009).
November 25, 2025 at 4:20 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
NPR has posted their "Books We Love" 2025 list. Check it out 😊 apps.npr.org/best-books/?...
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
apps.npr.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:37 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Found a striking #lichen on a large decaying tree trunk in moist coniferous forest canyon. In dry conditions thallus is a bright pale green patch with pale pink apothecia. With rainfall/moisture the thallus becomes deeper green and apothecia orangish. Fairly common w. Montana.
Typical substrate for Candy Lichen is rotting wood. In this case, downed timber well decayed. The crustose thallus is a pale green color. The apothecia are pink in color and only measure 1.5 to 4 mm in diameter (https://burkeherbarium.org/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Icmadophila%20ericetorum). Candy Lichen, as pictured, is exceptionally bright and vividly colored. Guessing this is a result of recent rains. Usually colors much more washed out, because of dry conditions? Note the crustose pale green thallus covering mosses and the surface of decaying wood. The pale pink apothecia are flat and irregularly round in shape. Pretty distinct from other lichen species. Typical irregularly shaped patch (actually thallus [vegetative body]) of Candy Lichen. Yep, found growing on decaying wood. Quite a sight to behold in a dark green/brown forest floor.
November 24, 2025 at 5:09 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Moss over rock is the perfect substrate for some Cladonia lichen. These organisms usually top out at an inch in height, if that. Easily recognized even from a distance, hair-like. Up close they resemble a decorated goblet that contains your dinner wine 😊
November 23, 2025 at 5:59 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Small number of mushrooms still being seen in western MT. All posted are Cortinarius sp. Easy to separate from other fungi genera by the orange-rusty spores on the leftover cortina of the stem. #MacroMonday
November 18, 2025 at 4:12 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Standing dead conifer trunk for #BWFri as directed by #ColorADay. Interesting that the wood twists/spirals, is that just an artifact of weathering? Also a reminder of the finite nature of life.
November 15, 2025 at 2:26 AM
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Couple of Sentinel High School students, Evan (left) and Oakley (right), assisted with trash pickup at a favorite Lolo, MT scenic pull off. They were enthusiastic in their efforts and a great example of young men getting involved in the community. Thank you Evan and Oakley 👍😊
November 14, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Reposted by Bob Danley
thefinancenewsletter.com
U.S. subprime auto loan delinquencies are its worst in 30+ years.

Meanwhile... the U.S. now has a record $1.7 trillion in auto loans.

Americans are drowning in debt. It's an unsustainable path.
November 14, 2025 at 6:52 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
My favorite Yes song, kicks ass. Enjoy :-)
open.spotify.com/track/2hGJkQ...
Starship Trooper: a. Life Seeker, b. Disillusion, c. Würm
open.spotify.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:01 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
It's #YellowThu from #ColorADay featuring Brown-eyed Sunshine Lichen. Note the ice/snow on the Ponderosa Pine twig. Yep, that means you (folks in Pacific NW) can get a blast of color throughout the winter by finding this lichen.
Brown-eyed Sunshine Lichen is a deep yellow foliose (leaf-like lobes) lichen. Growth usual on pine twigs, an epiphyte. Form usually roundish peaking at about two inches in diameter. Has numerous reproductive structures named apothecia which are the flat, brown growths embedded in the pictured yellow lobes. Reference: Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest by B. McCune and L. Geiser (2009).
November 13, 2025 at 8:37 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Find old decayed stumps (left photo) and there's a good chance it will be covered with moss and #lichen, especially pixie cup lichen. Note the numerous light green 'eyelashes', zoomed in on right photo. These are named Smooth-footed Powderhorn lichen. Found: Pacific NW and eastern U.S.
Smooth-footed Powderhorn reaches a height of about one inch. Colored a gray-green. The unbranched podetia (stem) equal in diameter until coming to a crude point/unfinished cup. Grows in shade and exposed environs of diverse forest types. Substrates include rotten wood, humus and soil. Reference: Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest by B. McCune and L. Geiser (2009).
November 13, 2025 at 4:29 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
While out doing shroom photography I encountered this bird slowly, methodically foraging for food in conifer forest habitat. I moved very slowly positioning camera for some shots. Not entirely successful, however great material for a #birding quiz. Can you identify this bird? ID via alt text :-)
Spruce Grouse.
November 12, 2025 at 1:37 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Thank you Veteran's for our preserving our freedoms and way of life.
Generated AI image courtesy of Gemini 2.5 Pro.
Image depicts a lit up Statue of Liberty with fireworks in the background. At the base of the statue are American flags flanked by saluting military personnel. All in honor of Veteran's Day.
November 12, 2025 at 12:15 AM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Encountered a large root wad (~8' in diameter) from a downed Douglas Fir. Loved the size, shape, colors, compactness of the roots...tried to capture my feelings towards this reality. This is a good reason to get outside...no need to name or be a biologist...just feel what you see...and you will😊
November 11, 2025 at 7:19 PM
imagewildlife.bsky.social
Bass Creek Crags seen (looking south) from the Bass Creek Overlook of the Bitterroot N.F. for #MountainMonday. Elevation about 9,600' located near Stevensville, Montana.
November 11, 2025 at 2:36 AM