Tuesday morning, I was walking the boardwalk at Congaree National Park (aka Congaree Swamp) and saw a most unusual insect. It appeared to be a stick insect floating very slowly down to the boardwalk, but then it rose and hovered. It quite definitely could control its movement. It somehow suggested a very spindly Chinook helicopter, only with legs.
Odd thing was that I couldn't see any wings. Internet searching indicates that there are certainly stick insects that fly, but their wings were quite prominent, and there was no suggestion of the helicopter about them. I'm familiar with dragonflies and damselflies, or at least the ones that live around here. I swear that the only thing it looked like was a stick insect. And yet... the same Internet searches at least implied that the flying ones mostly live very far from here (as in, not on this continent or in this hemisphere).
Whatever it was, it was awesome, cool and neato. I've got to start carrying a camera all the time. On the same walk, I saw a pileated woodpecker on the wing, also awesome, cool and neato, but considerably less mysterious.
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