Acanthocephala declivis--this was found while driving to work one morning on the hood of my car! I was just picking up speed on my neighborhood road when my field assistant (in the passenger seat) noticed it flailing, upside-down, on the hood. We stopped and captured it for later study. It likely fell onnto my hood from an oak tree above, and it was immobilized by the cold weather--about 45F. I've not seen this species previously in the NC Piedmont--I usually find only Acanthocephala terminalis. Length is 31 mm (measured, tip of abdomen to base of tylus)--really large!
Acanthocephala declivis--as I manipulated it on a craft foam stage, it would occasionally tilt one side of its body up in this fashion. I got a whiff and realized it was presenting its defensive scent gland to me. The inset shows full detail from the same frame. The odor was strongly aromatic, but not really unpleasant.
I'll get around to posting the rest of my photos from my Ash Ranges visit, but after a comment on Libby's lovely site photo, I thought I would share a favourite: my first alydid and the only one found in Britain, Alydus calcaratus.It was a nice warm day when we visited and I thought this was a wasp at first because it was flying around. We potted it up and bagged it for a while in the hope it would cool down enough to stay still for a photo!