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I think one of the absolute most frustrating things for me personally about the current climate crisis / late stage capitalism hell is that ontop of people just outright denying it and acting like the rising temperatures are normal- there’s been like. A VERY noticeable decline in the amount of insects yearly. As someone who goes out of my way to see bugs, every single year for the past decade there has been a sharp decline in bugs. What used to be fun filled summer months running around, catching grasshoppers and petting caterpillars… there’s nothing. I’ve seen one grasshopper this year. I’ve not seen a single caterpillar! It’s currently the ant nuptial flight season in my area and I’ve seen 0 winged ants. They used to all but infest my home during flight season

I remember as a kid, I used to excitedly find ladybug larvae, and I’d relocate them to plants covered in aphids. But I’ve seen one ladybug in the past 5 years, and 0 larvae. I’ve not even seen any aphids. It’s so tangible, it’s so noticeable to me as someone who considered this my absolute favourite season to do my favourite activity in. And I know if the bugs are dying off, other things that eat those bugs are to.

And the absolute worst part? When I tell people about this, the average reaction is ‘good!’. A lot of people will express joy over there being less bugs in the world. Most will express how they’re glad they’ve been experiencing less mosquitos and I want to just grab by the shoulders and shake them and yell TONS OF BUGS JUST DISAPPEARING SHARPLY OVER THE YEARS IS NOT A GOOD THING !!

Anyways. Fellow entomology nerds, have any of you also noticed a drastic decrease in bugs you’re finding yearly or is my area just in a bug deficit.

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me and who

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Tauros - Eurypleura bicornis ♉︎

Prints

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THE FULL BAD APPLE TIMELAPSE ON R/PLACE. thanks to everyone who contributed. it turned out amazing. proud to have been a part of this o7

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lyric cicada (Neotibicen lyricen). look at the pretty red ocelli (eye spots, bottom left pic)

@onenicebugperday

fun fact: lyric cicadas will often "play dead" when threatened, a defense carryover from their 5th instar as nymphs. this one was actually (freshly) dead though

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moth update ! theyre threatening me

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Purple-gold jumping spider, Irura bidenticulata, Salticidae

Found in Southeast Asia

Photo 1 by bemcola, 2 by portioid, 3 by andrewhardacre, 4 by lawrencehylton, 5 by kitlaw, 6-7 by pauldickson, 8 by lawrencehylton, 9 by andrewhardacre, and 10 for scale by gohulee

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Torpedo bug, Siphanta acuta, on a stick insect in New Zealand

A closer look at the torpedo bug:

Photos 1-2 by steve_kerr and 3 by christophercaine

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Hey! I’ve really liked following your posts about keeping & breeding isopods to find different color morphs- since most of your pictures are zoomed in to see the little fellas, I was wondering how big of a space you kept them in :0 Im thinking of potentially catching a few wild guys and keeping them to see what colors I can tease out, but my living space is mad small (college dorm) thanks a bunch :)

isopods don’t require much room at all! if you’d like to keep a tub of them, you’d probably have room somewhere for a colony of 20-100 in something the size of one of my tubs or smaller. you could also keep a smaller number of individuals in a cup but you’ll need to keep track of breeding and either find a home for or upgrade to something bigger within a generation or two.

here is a guide on how to make my style of isopod enclosure. it’s a bit specific and not easy to recreate, but I hope this gives you an idea of the enclosure size and some of the requirements.

and a more conventional, all-round caresheet that I like as well:

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isopod enclosure building guide is up now! it’s a bit specific and I use some odd materials, but hope this can give other isopod keepers some ideas.

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2 new babies!! ♥️♥️😭

Little A. seemani is currently being called Teeny and the giant vinegaroon is Mina!

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Armadillidium Vulgare - Japanese magic potion :)

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hey asshole! you lifted up the rock and now I have to scuttle! motherfucker!

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Slater Boy