#the larva

[onenicebugperday]

Yellow pasha butterfly caterpillar, Herona marathus, Apaturinae (Emperors)

Photographed in China by jiangyou

[mevil]

[bone-free-as-the-wind]

Fossil of dragonfly larva or I don’t know.

[silverbridge-harbor]

A juvenile bug isn't called a larva until it reaches the surface. While it's still underground it's called a margma

[heartnosekid]

rainbow tripod fish larva (bathypterois grallator) | source

[camilleflyingrotten]

More faeries Good Omens AU ✨

[beebeedibapbeediboop]

Bugs in jars

[bugthingsdaily]

today's bug thing is the Love Grub plush bag!

[maggotmuncher0]

beginning vs end of the cycle

[m0r1bund]

Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts

My comic for “Queer Compassion in 15 Comics,” a collaborative anthology that blends social science and art to illustrate LGBTQ+ experiences of compassion. You can read it online for free, or purchase a physical copy at that link :)

I was asked to write a statement about this piece, which I will share here:

There are some difficult feelings in the comic about estrangement, belonging, and cultural longing. The story didn’t click for me, though, until I started reading the stories of others in the community from the research. There’s a lot of beauty in there, but there’s also a lot of hurt. I wanted to squeeze everyone’s hands and somehow find the perfect words of comfort— and isn’t that all that anyone wants to do when they see family going through it? So I started thinking of it as a call-and-response between you, at your lowest point, and the ghosts of your ancestors. If they could talk to you, what would they say? “Look—you’re safe and fed.” “You’re alive.” “How magnificent!” “You can cry, but wouldn’t it feel better if you did it in the shower?” “Now hold my hand and walk with me.” “Take care of yourself.” “Brush your teeth.” “Text her back.” “We love you.”

It’s surreal to share this. I began working with the anthology crew in 2021, towards the beginning of my undergrad. In just under a week, I’ll be graduating. This project has been living in the back of my brain for the past three years, a source of comfort and catharsis. Now we get to inflict it on all of you, hahahaha…!! Sincerely, I feel so lucky to have been able to participate in it. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who leaves their touch on this anthology— scientists, artists, interviewees, readers, and beyond.

[adm-starblitzsteel-4305]

I swear if you hurt my cute kaiju baby girl, I'm gonna kill everybody in this room, and then myself.

[onenicebugperday]

Slug caterpillars, Olona sp.?, Limacodidae

Photographed in Singapore by budak

[jenfoundabug]

I thought this feisty little critter was an isopod until I got a closer look. This is a carrion beetle larva, and, as their name suggests, adults and larvae of this insect eat dead animals, maggots that live in carrion, and/or other types of decaying organic matter. I have no idea where this one came from, since there were no dead animals nearby or compost. Perhaps an insectivorous bird dropped it, or maybe this particular species likes chicken manure (there was a chicken tractor nearby vroom vroom). Putting this next part below the cut because it's a little gross. Proceed with caution:

This carrion beetle child seemed somewhat hungry, as it was nibbling at some dead skin around my finger nail. It tickled a bit and reminded me of the shrimp they sometimes have at aquariums that will nibble at your fingers. Yes that's a thing.

unidentified Silphidae larva Northeastern Pennsylvania, US

[wizardegg]

Beetle larvae

[startheskelaton]

The babies 🩵💙

I have literally no practice drawing these Kiju in their normal forms lol

[quazies]

Happy Mother's Day! 🧡