#insect identification

[temporal-mechanic]

@onenicebugperday here she is!

Yellow jacket and Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

[firebugseverywhere]

I found little larvae in my aunt's swimming pool! :-D

I think they're beetles? I'm pretty sure. Made a deal with my aunt to come take these home with me in the future since they're planning to use the swimming pool soon.

If anybody knows what beetle this is specifically, let me know! I'm really curious.

If it's Dytiscus marginalis it's actually under protection and thus it would be a bit illegal to kill them without reason. Saying that convinced my aunt to wait with the removal lol

Also saved this bumblebee (queen?), just look at how wet my girl is :-)

[futurebird]

The Worst Ant Video on the Internet

I did it. I found the worst ant video on youTube. I'm not going to link to it because it's *so* bad that I can't rule out the very real possibility that someone made it this bad just to bait people into watching it. But, let me give you a little taste of the horror.  The calamity starts with the title:

"Most Dangerous Ant Spices"

Yes. "Spices."

Dangerous ant spices? Are we talking tarragon and cumin? Are these spices dangerous to ants? Or is this a warning about the dangers of ant cooking?

The spelling error is bad enough, but also the whole concept of such a list is a little... gauche? Why is there this idea that the only thing that makes insects interesting is thinking about how much they could kill you?

But-- even this I could excuse. After all there are a few ants with dangerous stings. But, what do you think is on the list? Do you want to know? Too bad I'm telling you anyways:  

10. Harvester ant (This ant has a sting as bad as a bee. So, not a terrible entry for the bottom of this list...But the photo they used)

That is NOT a harvester ant. That is a weaver ant, genus Oecophylla. Weaver ants are tropical and use silk to make their nests in trees. Harvester ants are from the families Pogonomyrmecini and Stenammini, these are desert-dwelling ants who collect seeds and live underground. They don't even look alike at all. They do both have a sting, that's about as bad as a bee sting.

Maybe the next ant on the list will be better...? (of course not)

9. Redwood ant (What did wood ants do to deserve this??)

I don't even know what ant they meant by this. They showed an image of Formica rufa, the wood ant, and rufa do have a reddish color ... so maybe they are also called "redwood ants" But, why are these ants on a list of "Dangerous Ants" ?? They are a protected species that lives in the pine forests of Europe! They don't sting and can't even effectively bite a person. Their colonies are huge. They build mound nests of pine needles a meter in height and live in groups of 100s of thousands. They are gentle custodians of the forest enriching the soil and keeping the arthropod populations under-control. Beneficial ants that are so well loved they are protected from poaching since without them the forests would not thrive as well.

8. Odorous house ant (lol what?)

A few years back there was a recurring argument online about if ants have a smell. People who grew up in areas with the odorous house ant know that some ants, when crushed smell like coconut... or rotten face cream. The smell isn't exactly overwhelming and it's only around when the ants are crushed or injured. But it's very distinctive nothing is exactly like it. Most ants have no real smell. So people argued about this online.

But other than the smell there isn't much to say about these little ants. They are tiny, can't sting, can't bite. They can be house pests. So they are dangerous to your poptarts. Might smell a little odd for a few moments if you step on one. If this is "Dangerous" I don't even know.

7. Leafcutter ant

These ants are remarkable but they can't sting, they do have a powerful bite so I guess that's a little "dangerous" ... the majors could draw blood biting you. And they can defoliate a tree overnight ... so that's kinda ... "dangerous" ... at least they used the correct image.

6. Argentine ant

(is this a list of ants... most dangerous to other ants?)

Another ant that can't sting or bite. Linepithema humile is an invasive species and a huge threat to ant diversity in some parts of the world. This makes it even more unfortunate that the video, like many "resources" online used the incorrect photo for this ant. If you search for this ant with the common name "Argentine Ant" you will probably find a photo of another species incorrectly identified as an Argentine ant-- and, since it's invasive, incorrectly identifying one of your local beneficial species of ant as Argentine could lead to killing off the wrong ants. So. I edited this photo as it's not just misinformation... it is destructive misinformation.

Neither the ant in the photo, nor Linepithema humile are in any way "dangerous" except for the danger posed to native ants.

5. Carpenter ant (YES every single one!)

They did at least use a photo of one of the thousands of carpenter ants (Genus Camponotus) for this one. But that doesn't make up for labeling a harmless Campontus as an invasive in the last list item.

None of the Carpenter ants can sting or be dangerous. Some have a significant bite, but not as bad as the leafcutter ants lower on this list.

4. African ant (You aren't even trying anymore.)

I've decided making up something called an "African ant" putting it on a list of "dangerous ants" then using a photo of a trapjaw ant (Odontomachus speceis) that isn't even from Africa is probably racist ... somehow.

I think they meant to show the most famous ants from Africa, the driver ants. (Genus Dorylus) This is a genus of army ant that roves through the forests in columns of thousands. Their majors look vaguely like trap jaw ants. And they are a little "dangerous" ... though they are also well-loved since they will clean your home and land of pests.

3. Red fire ant (Guess what the photo showed. GUESS.)

Oh. NOW they show a harvester ant. I think that people don't think that real fire ants look as formidable as their reputation. So they use photos of the larger more beefy looking harvester ant instead. The common name "fire ant" refers to Solenopsis invicta, and invasive species with the ability to sting.

The sting of one fire ant isn't much... but they sting in great numbers and can be a problem. But this photo is a harvester ant, which is a much larger ant and beneficial. Harvester ants also sting. This may be why these ants are so often confused.

They had correct images for the last two items in their list. And both of these ants have significant stings and bites. That said neither is hunting humans for food or planning to take over your school board and ban books or anything.

2. Bulldog ant 1. Bullet ant

List is hot mess.

[kadzhi]

Hi can someone please tell me what this weird fat bug in my room is called ?

[somnambulant-seraphim]

I recently got some old keychains of bugs preserved in some kind of resin, so I took out the metal loops and used them as pendants for necklaces. I used wooden beads on all of them. 

I’m not sure what any of the insects are, so any ideas on identification are very much welcomed! :-)

[fallensapphires]

Animals: Beetles

All that biology tells us about the nature of God is that he has “An inordinate fondness for beetles.”

Requested by @needles-and-beans

[kiunlo]

Can you help me identify this moth?

This are screenshots from a video my mum took yesterday, of this moth that I've been unable to identify. It was a pretty big moth in my opinion, as I'd never seen a moth that big before lmao. It was flying like how hummingbirds fly, which is why you can't really see the wings properly. The body is a light brown, the top wings are the same light brown, with a small white spot on each of them, and the underwings are orange. It's butt has bands of darker brown on it, and it clearly has long antenna.

For context: I live in northern NSW Australia, however I have previously seen and been able to correctly identify a different moth species that looked somewhat similar to this one, which was a North American moth called the Snowberry Clearwing, which also appeared on the same exact bush today, after having seen this mystery moth a day before. I'm not sure if this moth could be a North American moth or an Australian moth, but the unidentified moth in these pictures is a bit larger than the Snowberry Clearwing.

[headlesschickenfriedrice]

Unidentified Leafy Bug - Kate Delaine (2023)

[possumnest]

recent creatures ive seen :•) --- mayfly, redlegged grasshoppers, some kind of toad - possibly a fowlers toad?, copes gray treefrog, american goldfinch, unidentified crawfish, and im pretty sure these are acorn weevils

(spider images below the cut)

zebra jumping spider + some kind of big momma spider- look at all those babies!

[asmoteeth]

Could somebody tell me what this illegitimate son of a bee and a fly is and if it's dangerous to bees

[cernunnosofthehunt]

Which Pokémon is this

[teeth-kid]

anyone know this guy? best guess my app had was "beetle" and im curious what species it actually is

[liliotl]

Gasp!!! Can anyone ID this type of jumping spider?

[bug-kid-benny]

a few days ago i found an interesting spiny brownish round funny bug thing with little spikes possibly and i dont really remember what it looked like i could barely see it i made this ms paint comic google isnt helping me does anyone know what this little rascal is from ohio

[somnambulant-seraphim]

Some more western conifer seed bug photos, they were a photogenic little fella :]

[amphiboys]

anyone know what kind of bug this is??

edit: eucalyptus tortoise beetle!