i saved a bug from drowning the other day! i wasn't sure if it would make it because bugs' wings are so fragile and they have such tiny lungs, but it was being extremely cooperative and fighting for its life. it's like it knew i was trying to help, and it was looking at me the whole time. it dried off very quickly and was able to fly on its own before i could even find a place to put it. unfortunately that means i couldn't bring it outside. but i wish it a safe and happy life
I'm glad it was saved! Bugs don't actually have lungs...they have openings in their exoskeletons called spiracles that lead to a series of tubes called tracheae that transport oxygen throughout their bodies. Since they're not actively inhaling and exhaling and have much lower oxygen requirements than other air-breathing vertebrates, they can often survive much longer submerged in water! Exactly how long they can be submerged depends greatly on species but varies from a few minutes up to a few hours. If they can crawl out of the water in a reasonable amount of time and dry off in safety, they're usually just fine :)
there's this mosquito in my room that has been sitting in the same spot for nearly 2 full days, is it ok? i know a lot of bugs like to stay still but I never expected a mosquito to do this
That's not unusual! They are either saving their energy because they have nothing else to do at the moment or they are near death. Either way, nothing you can do for them, I'm afraid!
also if multiple asks are ok: where do you get all this knowledge about bugs? a lot of the bugs you identify dont show up on the id resources i usually use and i need to become more powerful. thanks
The iNaturalist website is invaluable for IDing! Specifically the website, not the app, I find is much more useful. But my knowledge has come from lots of different places over the years.
(warning graphic) One time I saw a caterpillar which seemingly had pooped out a part of its intestines (there's a scientific word for this but i forgot it sorry) anyway is this something they can recover from or did it probably die? I also might be misdiagnosing the issue since it was definitely alive for a long time after i first saw it, and the only reference I have for what its organs look like is from a really poorly done dissection. thanks
I really can't say without seeing what it looked like or at least which species it was! It's possible it was something defensive that it could have recovered from or could have been trauma from a run-in with a predator.