pipunculidae

[pipunculidae]

bug ask game!

note from humblegrub: When I say "bug", I'm using it to more broadly mean any of many small, primarily terrestrial invertebrates- such as insects, arachnids, myriapods, some crustaceans, worms, terrestrial mollusks and isopods, and some other subsets of arthropods.

what's your favorite bug? (if you really can't choose, give us a top 5!)

fill out this “what insect order are you” quiz, and tell us what you got

what is your favorite order in Insecta?

do you have a favorite member within Chelicerata?

what species within Myriapoda is your favorite?

favorite song that mentions or includes a bug

if you could have any bug body part, what would it be? why?

what's the neatest bug you've seen in person?

thoughts on entomophagy?

do you have any pet bugs?

favorite bug related news story you’ve seen

best bug cryptid, fable, myth, or legend?

if you could own ANY bug as a pet, what would you own?

favorite extinct arthropod?

most underrated bug?

talk about a bug most people hate that you don't mind.

what's a bug you have a tattoo of or would get a tattoo of? (bonus points for pictures)

favorite bug youtube video or tiktok?

what's your favorite bug related meme?

what's a random bug fact that you tell people whenever bugs come up in conversation?

advice you'd give to someone afraid of bugs?

what's a "cute" or "cool" bug you show people who are afraid of bugs?

if you could rename any bug, which one and what would you call it?

favorite piece of bug art?

coolest fantasy bug design?

your favorite bug that lives in your area / region

what first attracted you to bugs as a study or hobby

are you a part of any bug clubs or organizations?

if you could have a bug related superpower, what would it be?

favorite instance of mimicry?

how you felt about bugs as a kid

favorite fruit fly gene or mutation?

how your close friends or partner feel about bugs

favorite instance of insect polymorphism?

favorite noise a bug can make

your policies and procedures when encountering an outside bug inside your home?

what’s the cutest or coolest baby bug?

if you could put together an outfit based on a bug, who would be your muse?

favorite depiction of bugs in the media?

coolest bug created structure

best bug book you've read?

most interesting human/bug interaction

which bugs do you think have the silliest faces?

a “guilty pleasure” kind of question - is there an invasive species that you have a soft spot for?

an endangered bug you wish got more attention

favorite bug related video game?

would you rather wield an army of fairyflies (smallest known bug) or have one of the biggest bugs to ever have historically existed as a pet (perhaps a millipede from Arthropleura or a griffinfly from Meganeuropsis?)

what is your favorite bug pokemon?

favorite bug emoji? 🐌🦋🐛🐜🐝🪲🐞🦗🪳🕷️🕸️🦂🦟🪰🪱

a bug that you want to be an emoji?

most interesting parasite?

blogroll! who are your favorite bug accounts on tumblr?

favorite bug accounts on other social media - instagram, facebook, tiktok, twitter?

what's a question related to bugs you would add to this list?

your choice! wax poetic about whatever bug related topic you want! (holds out mic)

🔥🔥🔥BONUS! BATTLE OF THE BUGS!🔥🔥🔥

you can only choose one!!!

millipedes or centipedes

moths or butterflies

dragonflies or damselflies

tarantulas or scorpions

snails or slugs

ticks or mosquitoes

bagworm caterpillar or caddisfly larva

ants or termites

stick bugs or leaf bugs

wasps or bees

big headed flies or small headed flies

whip scorpions or vinegaroons

ghost mantis or orchid mantis

crickets or cicadas

bullet ant or tarantula hawk

thanks for playing! have fun!

[pipunculidae]

Lymantria alexandrae (Lymantriidae) by Arthur Anker on Flickr.

Borneo, Malaysia

[pipunculidae]

Hispa atra is the slightly more widespread and gothier cousin of Dicladispa testacea, a spiky little beetle i've posted about before. i find these guys much more rarely, as they seem more prone to wandering off - while Dicladispa hangs out on the same Cistus leaf for days on end, Hispa restlessly skitters and waddles through blades of grass, presumably looking for the closest club that's playing bauhaus or sisters of mercy

(February 17th, 2024)

[pipunculidae]

Sorry if this is annoying but I'm very curious

What advice do you have for a (soon to be) senior in highschool that wants to pursue entomology?

Good question! Here's some thoughts off the top of my head, and I know some other entomologists follow me so they're very welcome to chime in as well.

Most obviously, look around for universities to apply to that have strong entomology programs, which is unfortunately fewer and fewer these days, at least in the US, and most have been merged into broader zoology and biology departments, but there are still at least a few out there that offer ento degrees at least.

See if there are any natural history museums with entomology collections in your area that you could volunteer or intern at! Also things like insectariums, or other entomology-related non-profits.

There are many subdisciplines withing entomology to consider. There's taxonomy of course, but also medical entomology, agricultural entomology and integrated pest management, forensic entomology, insect ecology, and so on. Ideally you'll be able to explore all of these in undergrad if you go to a university that offers courses in each, e.g. my alma mater UC Davis, and figure out which one speaks to you and is something to potentially pursue in grad school.

Even if you don't want to be an insect taxonomist, it's always worthwhile to learn your basic insect taxonomy. I'm a proponent of insect collecting for this purpose but I know not everyone's comfortable with that these days. Getting specimens to view under a microscope and take through order and family level keys is in my opinion one of the best ways to get a fundamental understanding of the groups, but I know non-collectors that just spend hours each day browsing up and down the taxonomic trees on bugguide that know their shit pretty good.

There are of course people with entomology or adjacent careers that didn't go to university for the subject. I can't speak to that path other than to say I know it exists and of course they're welcome to chime in here too with their thoughts.

That's all I got at least as far as concerns a question as broad as that. Happy to answer more specific questions on more detail. Good luck!

[pipunculidae]

Video by me and Ainsley Seago trying to explain the important work insect taxonomists do

[pipunculidae]

grasshoppers piss me off because what

[pipunculidae]

Leaf-footed bugs in the genus Paryphes, Coreidae

Photographed in Ecuador by Andreas Kay

[pipunculidae]

I saw a post somewhere on here about people erroneously assigning human morals to parasites, specifically using cuckoo birds as an example (if any of you know the post, feel free to link it), and I thought I would weigh in myself as an invertebrate enthusiast.

[Image IDs: A collage of nine images with text overlayed saying "This is morally neutral". The top three images are of a wasp laying an egg into a caterpillar, a tick on human skin at different stages of feeding, and one of a parasitic caterpillar being carried by a host ant. The middle three, mostly obscured by the text, are of a snail infected by broodsac flatworms, a wasp parasitized by twisted-wing insects, and a bee parasitized by bee mites. Finally, the last three are of Glyptapanteles wasp larvae emerging from a caterpillar, a Tachinid fly laying eggs on another caterpillar, and a flea in an animal's fur /End IDs.]

[pipunculidae]

Timber flies in the family Pantophthalmidae are some of the largest fly species in the world, second only to giant Mydas flies (posted here). They are found in South and Central America. Larvae feed by boring into live wood, but adults are short-lived and don’t feed at all. There are currently 21 described species.

Photo 1 by kehnaturalist, 2 by Art Anker (posted with permission; do not remove credit!), 3 by beanatali, 4 by frogman44, 5 by easleybirding, 6 by charro, 7 by albertogg, 8 by trekman, 9 by vet-adrianh-orozco, and 10 by birdernaturalist

[pipunculidae]

Male flat-footed fly, Lindneromyia flavicornis, Platypezidae

Photographed in Washington, DC by Katja Schulz

[pipunculidae]

Bumble bee hover fly, Volucella bombylans, Syrphidae

Found throughout the Palearctic and Nearctic realms

Photo 1 by Walwyn, 2 by agabus1, 3 by janicesutton, 4 by prunhel, 5 by bugzilla, and 6 (for scale) by michal_vais

[pipunculidae]

Earwig, Timomenus aeris, Forficulidae

Found primarily in Taiwan

Photo 1 by zis_tranquil, 2 by jtrwua, 3 by wallacechen, 4 by muyaocraft, and 5-6 (female with eggs) by adachao

[pipunculidae]

@nutmegdoggy submitted: I hope you recover soon!! here's a stunning striped horse fly I encountered at the pharmacy, pretty sure she's a female!

Thank you! Yes definitely a female. Eyeballs.......

[pipunculidae]

DONE! My wasp drawing project is now complete!

The alignment is a little crooked, but I will fix that later. I will probably need to make little adjustments and fixes here and there, but I'm happy with how this turned out in the end.

🥳

[pipunculidae]

Delhi sands flower-loving fly, Rhaphiomidas terminatus ssp. abdominalis, Mydidae (Mydas flies)

Photographed in California by silversea_starsong

[pipunculidae]

Happy water bug Wednesday!

I’m just a little bit obsessed with their little raptor arms not gonna lie. Belostomatids, known as giant water bugs and also as toe biters, are in full baby season where I am right now, meaning I can finally hold some tiny ones without suffering their worst bites!

The adults tend to bite the absolute shit out of me when they get the upper hand. I am very fond of them all the same. Pretty common bug here. Very quick to scramble off your hand and very quick to bite you if they can’t figure that out fast enough.

[pipunculidae]

crane flies in general are underappreciated animals but the few people who do like them mostly focus on their gangly features and complete lack of self-preservation. i don't mean to draw attention away from those but i personally like their tiny bobbleheads the most, with those bead curtain style antennae and absurd mouthparts

(October 18th, 2024)