Today my macro lens was on my camera more than any other lens. I saw or heard half a dozen Blackpoll Warblers this morning, a sign that migration is winding down, 2 Wilson's Warblers, 1 Magnolia Warbler, 1 Blackburnian Warbler female, a few Tennessee Warblers and my highlight, a singing male Canada Warbler, but I couldn't get a photo of any.
 
While trying to get a view of a Blackpoll Warbler I noticed this strange insect on a piece of deadwood. I can usually recognize an insect as being a wasp, beetle, fly, etc in the broadest sense of those orders, but this guy didn't fit any of the patterns I was familiar with. I figured it had to be part of one of those smaller orders of insects like caddisflies or lacewings, the latter being my first thought, and it turned out I was on the right track with that thought. This insect is an alderfly, part of the smaller order megaloptera, which includes dobsonflies and fishflies, big insects that anglers may be familiar with. I was not familiar with these insects until today when I searched through my books trying to put a name to this photo.