YvonneGilmore

That looks like a moon jelly. I remember seeing them in my zoology class last semester.... "The most commonly found jellyfish is the Aurelia aurita or the moon jelly. It is considered harmless, as its sting is unable to penetrate the human skin. The disc shaped body is about 20 centimeters in diameter, and has lots of small tentacles hanging from its rim. There are four feeding tentacles that are longer, which surrounds its mouth. It has also four earlobes on top which are its gonads and are a favourite food of other fishes." via http://www.jellyfishfacts.net/identify-j...

see also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurelia_aur...

No problem :) If you are interested, there are other ways to tell a moth from a butterfly. More often than not the butterfly is more brilliantly colored while moths are duller or more naturally colored. Also, butterflies tend to rest with wings closed and moths rest with wings open. And you may notice that the coloring on the outside of butterfly wings when they are closed are much duller than the inside. Happy spotting!

Yeah... I think you might be right. I think maybe the angle I was at showed me less red... but after looking at other pics, and at similar species I don't see anything else even close. Thanks for the link florida33girl :)

I will have to keep an eye out in the spring time KarenPuracan, and see if any orioles return to these nest sites. I have not seen any orioles in this area, but I have been told they are common.

I didn't think you were wrong, was merely curious! But curiosity pays off in one way or another sometimes :)

Here's some interesting reading if you are interested

http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/projec...

That is a cicada. They are often miscalled locusts. They can be very loud in the summer evenings, and you can often find their skins on trees, or any wooden surface where they shed.

I can also say it's a little disturbing if they mistake you for a tree. I remember holding one when I was 10 and having a little needle like structure pierce my finger. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as a bee or wasp sting however. Was mostly just surprising since these guys don't tend to bite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada

That is a cicada. They are often miscalled locusts. They can be very loud in the summer evenings, and you can often find their skins on trees, or any wooden surface where they shed.

I can also say it's a little disturbing if they mistake you for a tree. I remember holding one when I was 10 and having a little needle like structure pierce my finger. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as a bee or wasp sting however. Was mostly just surprising since these guys don't tend to bite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada

I agree with bayucca

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamadryas_a...

And, for future note, usually the antennae are "feathery" on moths, and a thin with a small ball like shape on the ends for butterflies. Not true for all, but more often than not :)

I'm curious how this species differs from Taxodium distichum, or "Bald Cypress". I only ask because I recently learned that bald cypress grows well in Kansas due to the high water table. But they don't grow pneumatophores, since they don't need them :) It doesn't look like yours has pneumatophores either.