Found this guy hanging out on the outside of our kitchen window screen. He was about 1 inch long, excluding the antennae, and got very angry when I picked him up for photos, waving his legs and thrashing his head around trying to bite me. He did manage to pinch me with his jaws, but they weren't strong enough to actually hurt. He could and did fly once I let him go, but calmed down and sat still again after landing on a milkweed leaf.
The ID algorithm has suggested Spined Oak Borer (Elaphidion mucronatum), Carolina Pine Sawyer (Monochamus carolinensis), and Red Oak Borer (Enaphalodes rufulus) as "seen nearby," but I'm not certain which, if any, of those suggestions is correct.
After comparing my photos to images on Bug Guide, I am thinking Elaphidion mucronatum seems more likely than the other two suggested species.
Taking the genus suggestion from the ID algorithm for now. These flowers were a good 3 inches across.
Found on Balloonplant in my mom's pollinator garden. I'm pretty sure this is a Carolina Mantis for a few reasons: 1) Wide, slightly flattened head shape when viewed from the front. 2) My mom finds adult mantids in the garden every fall, and they've always been Stagmomantis carolina.
Taking the family suggestion from the ID algorithm for now.
This gal was hanging out on potted milkweed in the pollinator garden, munching on some type of true bug.
This guy has been hanging out on potted milkweed in the pollinator garden, and he's almost made it to adulthood!
I literally can't remember the last time I've seen a cuckoo (as opposed to merely hearing it), so seeing this guy and managing an actual photo was a huge treat!