Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • Huge female with distinctive "zig-zag" web under a shrub near Hickey's Creek in Lee County, Florida.
    Black-and-Yellow Garden Spider
  • A male juba skipper pauses for a moment on a clump of asters on a windy spring day on Whiskey Dick Mountain in Central Washington just west of the Columbia River near Vantage. Similar in appearance to other related skipper species in the sagebrush deserts and plains of the northern western states, this one is dependent on certain native grasses for their young to eat.
    Juba Skipper
  • A subspecies of the common ringlet,  the northwest ringlet is a member of the satyr subfamily of brushfoot butterflies and is a regular sight in the grasslands and plains of the northern western states with a slightly lighter coloration with brighter oranges.  This one was found near a lake in the sagebrush desert or rural Grant County in Central Washington.
    NorthwestRinglet-1.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there is ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-4.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there is ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-1.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there is ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-2.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there are ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-3.jpg
  • The mouse spider is a beautiful, velvety (hence the name) brown spider and accidental European import that has established itself across much of North America. This speedy predator does not use a web to catch prey, but rather prefers to chase down and overpower insects and other spiders. At less than an inch in length, this spider is completely harmless to humans, unless you are in fact the size of a cricket. This mature female was found under a rock between Ellensburg and Vantage, Washington while hunting for scorpions.
    Mouse Spider
  • A male blue dasher dragonfly perches on an old thistle flower that's gone to seed over a small pond in rural southern Georgia in Hardee County.
    Blue Dasher
  • This attractive little autumnal moth was found on the side of a moss-covered tree stump in Bellevue, Washington on a fall afternoon. Very common, all in North America and Europe, it is highly variable in color and pattern and is associated with birch trees.
    Autumnal Moth (Epirrita autumnata)
  • This most common of the orb weaver spiders found in Washington State, the cross orb weaver is found in a wide range of habitats. It has extremely variable markings and patterns, but they all have a white cross on the back of the abdomen. This large female was found eating its prey - some sort of flying insect - that she trapped in her web next to Coal Creek in Bellevue, Washington on an early fall afternoon.
    Cross Orb Weaver
  • This great find in a purplish prickly pear cactus flower (Opuntia azurea) in Big Bend National Park in West Texas was an exciting one for me. This bee assassin bug is a clever hunter of bees and other pollinating insects found throughout much of North America. It is most often found inside flowers waiting to stab the unsuspecting insect attracted to the flower's sweet nectar with its sharp proboscis, where it will literally drink its prey dry. Even though this one is covered in pollen, you can still see the warning colors of black and red (aposematic coloration) warning birds and other predators that this bug is not safe to eat or hunt.
    Bee Assassin on Purplish Prickly Pear
  • The yellow-spotted millipede also known as the almond-scented or cyanide millipede, is a fairly common millipede found in coastal Pacific forests from Central California to Alaska. Although it has few natural predators, this millipede is a perfect example of aposematism (warning coloration) and when threatened it has the ability to exude a toxic hydrogen cyanide as a defense. This one was found in the forest just off the side of the Sol Duc Trail in the Olympic Mountains of Washington State.
    Yellow-Spotted Millipede
  • Uncooperative  Texas gold millipede I found near Burro Spring, in Western Texas' Big Bend National Park. This large, fat millipede was crawling along just fine until I lifted my camera to my face.
    Texas Gold Millipede (Orthoporus orn..tus)
  • Quite a lucky find! While flipping over rocks searching for scorpions in northwestern Texas I chanced upon a (possibly brand new) desert subterranean termite colony. Normally found deep underground, under the rock I found the big queen termite, the king termite similar-looking but much smaller, and a number of worker termites. Hazarding a somewhat educated guess I'm going to say that these belong to the native Reticulitermes genus - a beneficial species that takes the role of fungus and algae in breaking down plant and wood material in the most arid of deserts where fungi and algae can't survive.
    Desert Subterranean Termites
  • A view of the lesser striped scorpion (Hoffmannius coahuilae) showing how well it blends in with its environment. Normally a burrowing species, this one was found under a rock and gently coaxing onto the top of this rock for this photograph before being gently placed safely back under its original rock.
    LesserStripetailScorpion2015-3.jpgLe..pion
  • The lesser striped scorpion (Hoffmannius coahuilae) is a small and somewhat high-strung burrowing scorpion found in the American Southwest. Although this one stung the stick I was using to position it for this photo about a dozen times, the venom is temporarily painful but certainly not dangerous.
    Lesser Stripetail Scorpion
  • This colony of aggregating anemones were found at low tide in Northern Oregon attached to the underside a large rock just north of Cannon Beach. These were photographed from above-water, and some distortion resulted. Above the water-line, they retract their feeding tentacles and aren't so beautiful as they are underwater. Notice the larger green anemones deeper in the water - they are a related, yet separate species.
    Aggregating Anemone Colony
  • This beautiful coldwater-loving anemone is a shocking green color and is found along the Pacific Northwest Coast along the intertidal zone to about 15' deep.  These were found on a rock at low tide and photographed through still water on Oregon's Northern coastline at low tide at Hug Point.
    Giant Green Anemone
  • This beautiful coldwater-loving anemone is a shocking green color and is found along the Pacific Northwest Coast along the intertidal zone to about 15' deep.  These were found on a rock at low tide and photographed on Oregon's Northern coastline at low tide as they closed up while the tide receeded on Crescent Beach.
    Giant Green Anemones at Low Tide
  • This beautiful coldwater-loving anemone is a shocking green color and is found along the Pacific Northwest Coast along the intertidal zone to about 15' deep.  These were found on a rock at low tide and photographed through still water on Oregon's Northern coastline at low tide at Hug Point.
    Giant Green Anemone
  • These beautiful coldwater-loving anemones are a shocking green color and are found along the Pacific Northwest Coast along the intertidal zone to about 15' deep.  These were found on a rock at low tide and photographed through still water on Oregon's Northern coastline at low tide at Hug Point.
    Giant Green Anemones
  • A male acmon blue butterfly in Central Washington drinks moisture from the mud after a soaking summer rain in the rural canyons south of Yakima, Washington.
    Acmon Blue Close-up
  • Close-up view of a silvery blue (Glaucopsyche lygnadus), a small member of the gossamer-wing butterfly family collecting moisture from the edge of a creek in Kittitas County, Washington.
    Silvery Blue Butterfly
  • A super-energetic group of silvery blues, drink up water quickly after a summer rain in the hot, arid sagebrush country of Kittitas County, Washington.
    Silvery Blue Butterflies
  • A pair of silvery blues, land briefly just after a summer rain in the hot, arid sagebrush country of Kittitas County, Washington. This shot shows both the forewing, and the hindwing.
    Silvery Blue Butterflies
  • A female common ground crab spider of the genus Xysticus (probably X. cristatus) guards her egg sac in the sagebrush desert in Central Washington's Ginkgo Petrified Forest. This drab brown crab spider is in stark contrast to those crab spiders often found camouflaged brightly with vivd colors among flowers, and relies on active hunting over ambush predation. Sadly, this spider will complete her life cycle and die naturally before her spiderlings hatch and disperse to renew the cycle of life, but for now they are well protected and cared for.
    Ground Crab Spider with Egg Sac
  • A beautiful specimen of an adult northern scorpion sits on a rock covered with brilliant teal-colored lichens in Central Washington State. This inch-and-a-quarter beauty is the most northern species of scorpion and is the only one found in the upper Pacific Northwest. Completely harmless to humans, the sting will burn and cause numbness, so caution is advised.
    Adult Northern Scorpion (Paruroctonu..eus)
  • A tiny northern scorpion is discovered under a small rock in Central Washington State. Probably only a second or third instar, this almost half-inch fat little arachnid is just about ready to molt, judging by the darkening skin along its sides. When it does molt, it will shed its skin and a fresh, slightly larger scorpion will emerge.
    Baby Northern Scorpion (Paruroctonus..eus)
  • A successful ambush - a green lynx spider eating a small green stink bug from inside a garden flower in Jefferson County, Florida.
    Green Lynx Spider
  • Brilliant and colorful, the large golden silk spider is a very common sight in nearly every Florida forest and woodland.
    Golden Silk Spider
  • Unusually large golden silk spider in the Apalachicola National Forest.
    Golden Silk Spider
  • This big spider was actually seen from the car while driving through the Apalachicola National Forest. I just had to pull over!
    Silver Argiope
  • Huge fishing spider carefully photographed in the Fakahatchee Strand. These guys can get aggressive and do bite hard!
    Fishing Spider
  • High contrast photograph of dewdrops sparkling on a spiderweb at dawn in the Florida Everglades.
    Spider Web
  • I almost missed this little crab spider while hiking through rural Washington County on the Florida Panhandle.
    Goldenrod Crab Spider
  • Goldenrod crab spider eating a variegated fritillary butterfly in the Lake Talquin State Forest in North Florida. This little camouflaged spider really blends in with these flowers where the butterfly feeds!
    Goldenrod Crab Spider
  • Roseate skimmer dragonfly resting on a reed in a pond in Sarasota, Florida. Beautiful!
    Roseate Skimmer
  • The beautiful male roseate skimmer photographed in the CREW Marsh Hiking Trails. These are very common in South Florida wetlands.
    Roseate Skimmer
  • Honey bee gathering pollen from wildflowers - in this case, common beggar-ticks.
    Honey Bee
  • A great example of mimicry, this drone fly in the Lake Talquin State Forest in North Florida - which appears at first to be a bee - feeds on nectar of wildflowers, and is especially fond of asters. Native to Europe, but naturalized in the US and Canada.
    Drone Fly
  • The incredibly colored lubber grasshopper is a very common sight in South Florida in the summertime. These insects eat anything and everything!
    Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper
  • Florida ivory millipede in the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve found under an oak canopy in Okeechobee County, Florida.
    Florida Ivory Millipede
  • This tiny butterfly was photographed near the Ochlockonee River in North Florida.
    Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe)
  • Huge streaked sphinx moth found on a stucco wall at night in Fort Myers, Fl.
    Streaked Sphinx
  • Palamedes swallowtail on a thistle in the Okaloacoochee Slough in South-Central Florida, Hendry County.
    Palamedes Swallowtail (Papilio palam..des)
  • This promethea moth caterpillar was found in a very old hardwood forest near the Lake Jackson Indian Mounds in Tallahassee, Florida. It was one of the biggest caterpillars we've ever seen!
    Promethea Moth Caterpillar
  • This perfect example of an eastern tiger swallowtail is resting on a wild primrose bush deep in the Corkscrew Swamp of Collier County, Florida.
    Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio g..cus)
  • Giant swallowtail butterfly feeding on nectar from red penta flowers in Southern Georgia.
    Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)
  • Close-up of a long-tailed skipper in the Florida Caverns State Park.
    Long-Tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
  • This medium sized skipper was found flying around in the Talquin State Forest near Quincy, Fl.
    Silver-Spotted Skipper (Epargyreus c..rus)
  • Twin-spot skipper butterfly feeding on an unusually pale purple thistle in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Twin-Spot Skipper (Oligoria maculata)
  • Silver-spotted skipper resting for a moment on a leaf near an alligator pond in the Corkscrew Swamp in Collier County, Florida.
    Silver-Spotted Skipper (Epargyreus c..rus)
  • Horace's duskywing on a summer afternoon in the Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area in Charlotte County, Florida.
    Horace's Duskywing (Erynnis horatius)
  • A southern broken-dash skipper feeding on a thistle flower in the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve in Okeechobee County, Florida.
    Southern Broken-Dash (Wallengrenia otho)
  • A gray hairstreak  pauses on an unidentified species of liatris in the Fakahatchee Strand in Collier County, Florida.
    Gray Hairstreak
  • A salt marsh skipper feeding on beggarticks (a type of wild aster)  in the southern part of the Fakahatchee Strand where fresh and saltwater meet.
    Salt Marsh Skipper (Panoquina panoquin)
  • The large and beautiful mangrove skipper on the shore of an estuary on Sanibel Island.
    Mangrove Skipper (Phocides pigmalion)
  • Male Ceraunus Blue Butterfly photographed in Sarasota County, Florida in an overgrown and formerly agricultural area which has been converted to a wildlife sanctuary.
    Ceraunus Blue
  • Of all the tiny butterflies found in Florida, the little metalmark is by far the easiest to photograph. This one posed beautifully for me in the Big Cypress National Preserve.
    Little Metalmark
  • A gulf fritillary butterfly feeds on a buttonbush flower in Southern Georgia.
    Gulf Fritillary
  • Julia butterfly in the Florida Everglades near Homestead.
    Julia
  • Male common buckeye on Sanibel Island.
    Common Buckeye
  • Close-up after a maddening chase through the woods in rural Central Florida.
    Southern Pearly Eye
  • Viceroy butterfly in the heat of a summer day in the Corkscrew Swamp in SW Florida. This is one of the several species to mimic the Monarch's colors and pattern - known to birds for being toxic to eat.
    Viceroy
  • White Peacock feeding on common beggar's-ticks in the Fakahatchee Strand in SW Florida. These are extremely common on hot, humid mornings in the southern part of the state.
    White Peacock
  • Red Spotted Purple seen in Madison County, Florida. It was chased up an old Indian Mound (Letchworth Mound) and somehow managed to be photographed by an out-of-breath photographer!
    Red-Spotted Purple
  • Found primarily around the western half of North America, and more concentrated toward the Pacific Coast, this attractive little looper moth (Protitame subalbaria) with no common name was found next to a creek in a small aspen-filled canyon in the middle of the sagebrush desert near Ellensburg, Washington.
    Protitame subalbaria-1.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there are ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-5.jpg
  • The mouse spider is a beautiful, velvety (hence the name) brown spider and accidental European import that has established itself across much of North America. This speedy predator does not use a web to catch prey, but rather prefers to chase down and overpower insects and other spiders. At less than an inch in length, this spider is completely harmless to humans, unless you are in fact the size of a cricket. This mature female was found under a rock between Ellensburg and Vantage, Washington while hunting for scorpions.
    Mouse Spider
  • This beautifully blue male Sierra Madre dancer (Argia lacrimans) was found and photographed on a rock sticking out of Sonoita Creek in Patagonia, Arizona on a mild spring morning. Like all damselflies in the dancer family (named so because of their jerky, erratic and highly active movements during flight) males tend to be extremely colorful while the females tend to be drab in color. Unlike other damselflies, dancers tend to catch their prey "on the fly" rather than catching prey on the ground, and this probably explains why they fly in such an erratic manner.
    Sierra Madre Dancer
  • A male stella orangetip butterfly feeds on the nectar of blooming wax currants in Central Oregon near Bend. This is a subspecies of the in the sara orangetip complex, and is mostly found in the Pacific Northwest east of the Cascades where the habitat is much more arid and dry.
    Male Stella Orangetip
  • This most common of the orb weaver spiders found in Washington State, the cross orb weaver is found in a wide range of habitats. It has extremely variable markings and patterns, but they all have a white cross on the back of the abdomen. This large female was found eating its prey - some sort of flying insect - that she trapped in her web next to Coal Creek in Bellevue, Washington on an early fall afternoon.
    Cross Orb Weaver
  • This most common of the orb weaver spiders found in Washington State, the cross orb weaver is found in a wide range of habitats. It has extremely variable markings and patterns, but they all have a white cross on the back of the abdomen. This large female was found eating its prey - some sort of flying insect - that she trapped in her web next to Coal Creek in Bellevue, Washington on an early fall afternoon.
    Cross Orb Weaver
  • This stunningly red relative of the firefly, the bloody net-winged beetle uses aposematic coloration (warning colors) to its advantage. The bright red and black coloration/pattern is a strong warning to others that might want to eat it that it is toxic to eat and best left alone. This one was photographed just as it landed on a desert shrub below the Chisos Mountains in West Texas, near the Rio Grande River.
    Bloody Net-winged Beetle
  • Unidentified giant black millipede (probably in the family Atopetholidae) encountered by sheer accident on a chilly spring morning in the Big Bend area of Western Texas as I was winding my way up toward the Chisos Mountains.
    Giant Black Texas Millipede
  • Unidentified giant black millipede (probably in the family Atopetholidae) encountered by sheer accident on a chilly spring morning in the Big Bend area of Western Texas as I was winding my way up toward the Chisos Mountains.
    Giant Black Texas Millipede
  • Unidentified giant black millipede (probably in the family Atopetholidae) encountered by sheer accident on a chilly spring morning in the Big Bend area of Western Texas as I was winding my way up toward the Chisos Mountains.
    Giant Black Texas Millipede
  • Unidentified giant black millipede (probably in the family Atopetholidae) encountered by sheer accident on a chilly spring morning in the Big Bend area of Western Texas as I was winding my way up toward the Chisos Mountains.
    Giant Black Texas Millipede
  • Very similar to the closely-related and common American rubyspot, the canyon rubyspot is a very rare damselfly found only in Arizona. This one was found on a rock sticking out of the water in the Sonoita Creek in Santa Cruz County.
    Canyon Rubyspot
  • Unexpectedly this whitebanded crab spider popped out of this buckthorn cholla cactus flower as I was photographing it in Southern Arizona's Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on the US-Mexico border. These tiny spiders can take down  surprisingly big prey - much bigger than themselves, and this one was clearly well-fed. Bees were everywhere!
    Whitebanded Crab Spider
  • Easily North America's most common scorpion, the striped bark scorpion (Centruroides vittatus) is a medium-sized species found across most of the southern states and many of the states in Mexico. Perhaps one of the reasons for its geographical success is the fact that it can thrive in an amazing variety of habitats. It is found in deserts, grasslands, coniferous forests, deciduous forests and is found living under tree bark, rocks and any other suitable environment it can find. Unfortunately this is where it often is found among human habitation. Painful yet mostly harmless, this scorpion is not considered dangerous, unless you are a cricket, beetle or some other such small prey. This one was photographed in the Chihuahuan Desert's Guadalupe Mountains in NW Texas near the New Mexico border.
    Striped Bark Scorpion
  • Top view of the lesser striped scorpion (Hoffmannius coahuilae). I found this and about seven or eight others under rocks in the Guadalupe Mountains in Northwestern Texas.
    Lesser Stripetail Scorpion
  • A bombardier beetle (a type of darkling beetle) stands out in extreme contrast against the sand dunes of White Sands National Monument in Southern New Mexico, a wild landscape of gypsum sands piled into massive sand dunes.
    Bombardier Beetle
  • An unidentified member of the assassin bug family (Reduviidae) tumbles and rolls along on a strong wind through the White Sands dunes of Southern New Mexico.
    Assassin Bug
  • The Pacific goose barnacle is a very common find from Alaska to Baja California in Mexico, most often found attached to rocks on North America's Pacific coastline at low tide. While they may be filter feeders that will feed both plant and animal plankton that happen to drift too close to them, they  themselves are prey to gulls, oystercatchers, and multiple species of starfish. These were photographed at low tide on the Oregon coast at Hug Point.
    Pacific Goose Barnacles
  • This beautiful coldwater-loving anemone is a shocking green color and is found along the Pacific Northwest Coast along the intertidal zone to about 15' deep.  These were found on a rock at low tide and photographed through still water on Oregon's Northern coastline at low tide at Hug Point.
    Giant Green Anemone
  • This curious Pacific coast chiton is a nocturnal hunter that returns to the same rock after a night of hunting for algae along the intertidal zones of the Pacific Northwest. Often exposed during low tide, they are sometimes so fluorescent that they are known to glow in the dark and flash pink polka dots.
    Mossy Chiton
  • These common native mussels are found along the North America's West Coast from Alaska to Baja California in Mexico, and are found in massive colonies on the rocky coastline, often easily seen at low tide above the waterline. Archeological evidence shows these edible mollusks have been an important food source to humans for the past 12,000 years or more. These barnacle-covered mussels were found at low tide on Crescent Beach on Northern Oregon's Pacific Coast.
    California Mussels
  • Side-view of an acmon blue butterfly in Central Washington in bright late-afternoon sunlight. This tiny butterfly has a wingspan of just over an inch.
    Acmon Blue
  • This Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygnadus), a small member of the brushfoot butterfly family is collecting moisture from the edge of a creek in Kittitas County, Washington.
    Hindwing View of a Silvery Blue
  • A pair of silvery blues, land briefly just after a summer rain in the hot, arid sagebrush country of Kittitas County, Washington. This shot shows both the forewing, and the hindwing.
    Silvery Blue Butterflies
  • A hydaspe fritillary pauses briefly in a drying puddle of mud to drink after a sudden summer storm below Mount Rainier in Kittitas County, Washington.
    Hydaspe Fritillary
  • Typical coloration of the northwestern form of the variable checkerspot butterfly pausing near the side of a creek, photographed here in Kittitas County, Washington.
    Variable Checkerspot
  • Typical coloration of the northwestern form of the variable checkerspot butterfly drinking from the mud at the side of a creek, photographed here in Kittitas County, Washington.
    Variable Checkerspot
  • In an arid environment, after a good rain is a great time for finding butterflies such as this woodland skipper in Central Washington.
    Woodland Skipper
  • Touted as the world's smallest butterfly (at least this is true in North America) this one was one of hundreds I found at late dusk in the Moab Desert all seemingly asleep among a few bushes on the side of the road in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah. The wingspan at best is half an inch.
    Western Pygmy-Blue
  • Touted as the world's smallest butterfly (at least this is true in North America) this one was one of hundreds I found at late dusk in the Moab Desert all seemingly asleep among a few bushes on the side of the road in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah. The wingspan at best is half an inch.
    Western Pygmy-Blue
  • An incredibly tiny western pygmy-blue sits motionless in a shrub on a hot summer evening in the Moab Desert in Eastern Utah.
    Western Pygmy-Blue
  • A rare view of the opened wings of a live western-pygmy-blue in Utah's Moab Desert. Touted as the world's smallest butterfly (at least this is true in North America) this one was one of hundreds I found at late dusk in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah. The wingspan at best is half an inch.
    Western Pygmy-Blue
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