This fly was very interested in some compost and I thought it was ovipositing, but it is a male, as was noted to me when posted to BugGuide. Note the holoptic eyes characteristic of males in this species. Both sexes are spectacular Batesian mimics of wasps. The behavior here was odd--it was not feeding and seemed to be probing the compost with its abdomen. Perhaps it was searching for eclosing females--the larvae feed in rotting material and I presume they pupate there. (Durham, NC USA; 21 June 2007)
Carolinian Elegant - Meromacrus acutus (male, ~15 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/41883

Going through old files, I found a couple of more winter moths from December and January in Durham NC.
Black-dotted Ruddy Moth - Ilexia intractata (syn. Thysanopyga intractata; male; wingspan ~28 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/7816
The caterpillar feeds on hollies (Ilex) and is known as the Holly Looper. Adults fly throughout the year in southern states.
They are rather variable. Paraphrasing BugGuide:
Reddish with dark, indistinct traverse lines. Postmedian area accented with a series of small black darts and white dots. Strong, sharply-defined black discal spots on median lines, both wings.

Going through old files, I found a couple of more winter moths from December and January in Durham NC.
Black-dotted Ruddy Moth - Ilexia intractata (syn. Thysanopyga intractata; male; wingspan ~28 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/7816
The caterpillar feeds on hollies (Ilex) and is known as the Holly Looper. Adults fly throughout the year in southern states.
They are rather variable. Paraphrasing BugGuide:
Reddish with dark, indistinct traverse lines. Postmedian area accented with a series of small black darts and white dots. Strong, sharply-defined black discal spots on median lines, both wings.

I found this winter-flying moth at a porch light in Durham, NC (USA) on 10 January 2006. I recently revisited the image, improving the color balance and cleaning up a lot of distracting schmutz on the wall. This is the...
Fall Cankerworm Moth - Alsophila pometaria (male, wingspan 33 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/35918
Females in this species are flightless, leaving the males to do all the dispersal. They really seem to be adapted for cool weather--I have seen them as early as New Year's Eve in other years. Happy Wing Wednesday!

I photographed this pretty little hoverfly in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas on 19 October 2006. I recently revisited the images for better processing.
Hoverfly - Allograpta obliqua (female, ~8 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/481
These things have such a shiny thorax, one always gets a self-portrait as well.
Also uploaded and identified (with some discussion) at:
https://bugguide.net/node/view/85023/

A variety of interesting plants were found on a pleasant winter day (14 January 2021) at the Horton Grove Reserve in Durham County, NC (USA).
Adam-and-Eve, or Puttyroot - Aplectrum hyemale
Like the more common Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor), this plant has foliage present in the winter and blooms (mostly) after the leaves have withered. This is a good site for it and I hope to get back when flowers are present, which should be May.
with @curlysumac

A variety of interesting plants were found on a pleasant winter day (14 January 2021) at the Horton Grove Reserve in Durham County, NC (USA).
Little Heartleaf - Hexastylis minor
Found on dry slopes, this is much less common than Hexastylis arifolia of more mesic areas.

@curlysumac found this in bloom--a real surprise!

A variety of interesting plants were found on a pleasant winter day (14 January 2021) at the Horton Grove Reserve in Durham County, NC (USA).
Roundlobe Hepatica - Hepatica americana (sometimes listed as Hepatica nobilis)
Already in bloom! (A friend saw it in bloom on Thanksgiving Day 2019.)
with @curlysumac

Happy Wing Wednesday! I found this pretty little bee resting on vegetation on 18 October 2006 in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. I recently reprocessed the images.
Cuckoo Bee - Coelioxys slossoni arenicola (female, ~11 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/160746
Also posted and identified at:
bugguide.net/node/view/84736/
The species name honors American author and entomologist Annie Trumbull Slosson (1838 - 1926).

A friend captured this critter and brought it to me for a photo session. I love the colors and form.
Eastern Bark Centipede - Hemiscolopendra marginata (~40 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/57589

Heard a ruckus in the middle of the night, sounded like a fox killing a chicken under my bedroom window. This morning, vulture snack! Worst possible light--dark subject in the shade with background in sunlight--oh well. Vulture would not let me get closer or get a different angle for better light. So flighty!
Scavenger: Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura
Scavengee: Gallus gallus domesticus

I found several of these pretty Batesian mimics (of Hymenoptera) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas on 19 October 2006. I recently reprocessed the images.
Northern Plushback - Palpada vinetorum (female, ~11 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/85020
As in many flies, males have larger eyes that cover most of the head and meet over the top--called "holoptic". Females have somewhat smaller eyes that do not meet at the top--called "dichoptic".

I found several of these pretty Batesian mimics (of Hymenoptera) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas on 19 October 2006. I recently reprocessed the images.
Northern Plushback - Palpada vinetorum (male, ~10 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/85020
As in many flies, males have larger eyes that cover most of the head and meet over the top--called "holoptic". Females have somewhat smaller eyes that do not meet at the top--called "dichoptic".

I found this elegant syrphid fly at the National Butterfly Center in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas on 19 October 2006. I recently reprocessed the images. Like the Palpada posted today, this appears to be a Batesian mimic of a hymenopteran, perhaps a potter wasp, Vespidae/Eumeninae. I initially mistook this fly for a member of a different family, Conopidae, which are mimics of the same wasps. Experts on BugGuide set me right. This species also has males with holoptic eyes.
Dioprosopa clavata (synonym Pseudodoros clavatus; male, ~10 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/14095

I encountered this lovely leaf-mimicking butterfly at the National Butterfly Center in the LRGV of Texas on 19 October 2006.
Tropical Leafwing (Goatweed Leafwing) - Anaea aidea
bugguide.net/node/view/31889
Also posted at:
bugguide.net/node/view/89070
Edit. The butterfly appears to be taking fluid from a damaged area (or a scale insect or aphid?) on this twig. Note the weevil on the right.

I observed this elegant little syrphid fly at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in the LRGV of Texas. The date was 22 October 2006. I recently reprocessed the images.
Ocyptamus cylindricus species group (male; ~8 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/1004971
www.inaturalist.org/taxa/958112-Ocyptamus-cylindricus
Also posted at:
bugguide.net/node/view/87148

I found this damselfly at Lake Crabtree County Park, Wake County, NC (USA) on 14 August 2005. I had not posted this image previously. Happy Wing Wednesday!
Fragile Forktail - Ischnura posita (female)
bugguide.net/node/view/604

Eastern Mistletoe = Santalaceae: Phoradendron leucarpum (formerly Phoradendron serotinum)
This specimen was found growing on a cultivated tree in a suburban area in Durham NC (USA) on 13 February 2020. I took some detail shots of the fruit trying to show the seed and sticky pulp.

This seed bug was captured on Rose-of-Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) on 22 September 2020. HWW!
Niesthrea louisianica (8 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/52865

HFDF! This syrphid fly was hovering around a single dock (Rumex) along a ditch in suburban Durham, NC (USA) on 26 April 2012. (I recently processed the images more carefully.) It perched occasionally, but briefly, to oviposit. The larvae are carnivorous, and in one of these images you can see the prey--aphids.
Ocyptamus fuscipennis (female, ~10 mm length)
Identification references:
bugguide.net/node/view/43727
Skevington, Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America, pp. 376-7.

Happy Wing Wednesday! I found this odd leaf-footed bug on a milkwort, Polygala curtisii, in Chatham County, NC (USA) on 28 September 2020. It then dropped down onto lichen-covered ground, where it was very well camouflaged. It is a...
Merocoris species (~ 8-10 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/9177
Either Merocoris distinctus
bugguide.net/node/view/83255
Or Merocoris typhaeus
bugguide.net/node/view/9178
I am leaning towards typhaeus, but am just not sure. Am posting a series of images in hopes of getting a specific ID.
Series also posted at:
bugguide.net/node/view/1924929

HFDF! This pretty little syrphid fly was displaying and/or basking from the railing of a deck in suburban Durham NC (USA) on 20 May 2012. I recently reprocessed these images. These flies are said to be "hilltoppers", that is, they gather at high places for mating, with males tending to stake out territories.
Syrphid fly - Chalcosyrphus piger (male, 9-13 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/7937
These flies are all dark except for the bright red abdomen and are said to be Batesian mimics of spider wasps with this pattern, esp. genus Astata.

I found this shrub in a woodland understory on 4 December 2020 near Durham NC (USA). The foliage is distinctive, but it was nice to find one in fruit to help confirm my ID. The fruits resemble blueberries but are only slightly fleshy and have little taste. I guess birds like them though.
Sparkleberry - Vaccinium arboreum (foliage and fruit)

This little scarab beetle was found dangling, alive, in a spider web on 22 October 2020 at Sandy Creek Park, Durham NC (USA). A phoretic(?) mite showed up in one frame. The beetle is:
Scooped Scarab - Onthophagus hecate (male, 6-7 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/3671
These things are such little tanks--the males must be very impressive when they do battle, as they have a huge pronotal horn plus a rhino-like horn on the head.

HFDF! I saw this couple of coupling flies on 18 June 2006 at Eno River State Park in Orange County, NC (USA). This was the first, and only, time I have seen these flies--I recently revisited the images for better processing. They were hyperkinetic, scurrying along the ground, apparently trying to take off while coupled. As they got close, they would try to climb my leg. The pectinate antennae are bizarre, especially on the male, and apparently distinctive for this species.
Xylophagid Flies - Rachicerus obscuripennis (male ~10 mm; female ~12 mm)
bugguide.net/node/view/226263
Also posted at:
bugguide.net/node/view/59245/

I found this odd syrphid fly dead inside of a tent, an inadvertent malaise trap, in Durham NC (USA) on 20 July 2011. I have seen this fly just twice over some years of insect watching.
Six-spotted Bromeliad Fly - Copestylum sexmaculatum (female, 9 mm length)
bugguide.net/node/view/228057