#idk species of the caterpillar or the slug

[copepods]

taking mediocre photos of animals is my favorite hobby

[onenicebugperday]

@rogueinkglitch submitted: A video of a beautiful Ohio friend! (Assuming the video works….)

And a few pictures of other Ohio friends! Any IDs would be appreciated

It def worked! Very good long friend. I think millipedes have the ideal body plan. I couldn't say exactly which species that one is, though. The weevil is likely a white-fringed weevil, but the caterpillar I couldn't say for sure without more distinctive markings but mayyyybe a fall armyworm or similar noctuid. Slorg....idk maybe an Arion slug. And finally a goth beetle! I am genuinely unsure about this fella. The legs and antennae look like a stag beetle but the rest doesn't look familiar to me

[crevicedwelling]

Probably a stupid question but, can invertebrates become overweight? Animals kept as pets can get too "loved" and become overweight, but can this also happen to, idk, slugs, millipedes, etc.?

depends on the bug! in general most bugs will just not eat if they don’t feel hungry. quite often my amblypygi and centipedes refuse food, and will do so for long periods of time when close to molting.

many herbivores or detritivores like slugs, caterpillars, millipedes, isopods, or cockroaches will eat plant matter all day until they meet their needs. however, for certain animals. captive diets can be too rich in nutrients. most roaches are adapted to eat low-protein diets and therefore store protein efficiently as uric acid crystals. in captivity, too much protein essentially give roaches gout and can kill them, so dog/cat/fish food should be given in moderation (depending on species, 20-30% protein is more than enough and less is fine, I raise B. dubia entirely on vegetable and fruit scraps).

predatory bugs also can be overfed. some tarantulas can become obese which is concerning for them since they have thin, soft abdomens which rupture easily, so obese tarantulas are more susceptible to injury and molting failure. my A. chalcodes Cassandra hasn’t eaten since the previous autumn and not lost any weight, so it seems to depend on the species and individual’s metabolism if they’ll overeat. some centipedes can look awfully bloated in captivity, but not enough is known about them to say if that’s unhealthy. I try to keep my centipedes fairly slim, and mine seem to not feed if they’re not hungry as well.

in general, my advice for feeding arthropods is to try and mimic natural diets as much as possible. slugs and caterpillars need to eat constantly to extract nutrients from their watery, fibrous plant diets, so should always have food available. cockroaches, millipedes, and isopods are detritivores, so should always have dead leaves or vegetable bits to eat, and protein can be offered in moderation as needed. predators should be fed plenty after molting, and maintained not-at-bursting for the rest of that instar

[llumaca]

i see a weird shape outside the window, so i go outside to check it out and it’s a slug. slugs aren’t supposed to be on windows! then i look around and there’s just. slugs everywhere. slugs on the floor, slugs on the wall. also a bunch of snails and earthworms and a caterpillar just crawling around having a merry time.

so apparently at night all the slugs & co. come out of the compost and have a party in the garden?? how did i not notice until now??

[mars-ipan]

Bug World Ideas Post:

[DISCLAIMER: these are very conceptual and subject to change. it is still an idea floating around in my head]

GENERAL:

-huge big bug world! there are bug nations of mostly individual species and there are bug nations of many different species. it sorta depends on the nation as well as the bugs that inhabit it

-there will be some non-sentient bugs. i’m unsure of whether to use caterpillars/butterflies as steeds and get rid of my sentient moths or to use earthworms and have Really Slow Steeds. we’re figuring it out. horse flies maybe?

-this is sort-of rpg based. i want it to have rpg elements. ooh maybe it could be a game someday that’d be cool

-i want to keep the predator-prey stuff that some bugs have in some way. maybe international conflicts? maybe they actually do eat each other and it’s considered normal? livestock? not sure

ANTS:

-warrior kingdoms. great lifters and very strong in numbers

-as per real life, most are female and related to the queen in some way. ant romances don’t really happen for this reason

-i don’t know what to do with the drones atm. i don’t.. want ant oppression???? but idk what else to do. consorts to the queen? they’re treated well. yes they have wings

-ants still live in mounds! they’re HUGE underground kingdoms. ants are rarely claustrophobic for this reason

BEES:

-mute! their ancestors never adopted a verbal language and as such bees don’t have vocal chords. they communicate through body language and any sounds they can physically make have different meanings. they can learn the universal bug language, but must sign rather than speak. if i draw this it will most likely be ASL as i am American

-same/similar bio. sex stuff to the ants. yes trans bugs are allowed

-all of the females have stingers with which to defend themselves (gathering pollen is dangerous work) but they also know that they only get one sting. it is culturally taught that stinging is specifically for situations in which the bee’s fate is sealed. take ‘em down with you sorta deal.

SPIDERS:

-they’re merchants/shopkeeps! i like the idea of them keeping little items in their webs.

-their prices and item rarity (as well as their demeanor) are influenced by the danger and rarity of the spider they’re based off of

-if i do a story then each species has (up to) 1 spider. in this case, the black widow sells high-priced items that aren’t exactly rare, but just well sought-after. she’s snarky, but actually really kind. sort of a witty mom type.

-oh also they’re like centaurs in terms of shape. their abdomens being the horse equivalent.

SNAILS/SLUGS:

-they’re really kind! just sweet little goop folk.

-they also have a centaur-like build and a single set of arms

-eye stalks are no longer eyes! it would be cool but i wanted them to be cute. now eye stalks are little sensory organs that they use to understand their environment.

-this results in them being somewhat tied to different emotions- body language n all that

-they can’t see or hear very well! idk how true this is for real snails/slugs but i needed them to have a reason for the stalks

-their stalks pick up on vibrations and scents, which is how they get around

-due to their being hoh, if a snail/slug speaks the common language, their speech may be a little garbled/slurred. forgive them, they’re not really made for verbal speaking

-they can also learn sign language, like the bees, but this can also be a bit difficult for them, as they cannot interpret signing very well. snails/slugs and bees have some trouble communicating bc of this, but they make it work

-the snail/slug language relies primarily on pheromones, as well as touch or vibration. they can speak and make sounds, but they’re not very used to it.

-snails’ shells do act as sort of homes, but they’re not ideal. think of them as like. beds. they would rather be in a home than outside, although there are many snail nomads because of the shell availability.

-as for slugs, they just live in regular homes

-yes they are slow.

-do not confuse their slowness and difficulty communicating for dim-wittedness! snails and slugs are just as smart as other species.

[onenicebugperday]

@ectopistes-migratorius-flock submitted: Many, many friends from lower Michigan, across several months! A crane fly, tobacco hornworm (I think-- I can't really identify them from tomato hornworms), spiders + slugs, ladybeetle, a different (blurrier) spider, small green caterpillar, and a fly I just thought was neat :) it was slowly swivelling its wings in a circle as it sat, and I've seen others of the same species do it constantly - not sure why they're doing that!

I'd like to ask for IDs for these guys, if you're at all able to narrow it down :) tyvm!

Sure! A great group of pals. The first is a tiger crane fly. The caterpillar is definitely a tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta. Tomato hornworms are rare in Michigan. But they’re easy to tell apart by their horn - tobacco hornworms have a red horn and tomato hornworms have a blue horn. A bit hard to see in your photo but it does have a red tip.

Shout out to the ispod in the third photo! Hey lil buddy. I can’t say what the slugs are, but the spider (is it one or several? idk) look like hackledmesh weavers. The beetle of course is an Asian lady beetle and the blurry spider is an eastern parson spider. The caterpillar appears to be one of the whites in the genus Pieris, likely a small white. And finally the fly who waves their wings in a silly manner is a common picture-winged fly. The wing movements are part of courtship, though I don’t know why they do it when they’re alone. Funsies?