#type: bugs

[onenicebugperday]

Hairy pie-dish beetle, Helea perforata, Tenebrionidae (darkling beetles)

Found in Western Australia

Photos 1-3 by jmwatson and 4 (for scale) by cal-wood

[casserpillarr]

(I'm so sorry i lost your ask!! luckily i screenshotted it B)

You asked me THE ask EVER!! I wanted to go all out and draw every merc but.. Chapter 7 is out and i need to draw it-

[bugthingsdaily]

today's bug thing are these maggot ponytail holders!

[hellsitegenetics]

String identified: ag t at c & t ca t t a ca t t t t t a a t t t . a c t

Closest match: Euchloe belemia genome assembly, chromosome: 22 Common name: Green-Striped White

(image source)

i love having friends with favorite colors & shit so i can just send them random crap like yess this is pink ill show it to the pink friend this has a fish ill show it to the fish friend. fish is a color btw

[waackery]

Office bugs!!! Story by my classmate @shiru_art on insta, character design by me

[alexmey-does-an-arts]

glimpse into my beautiful imaginary world where arthropods are really big and we domesticated them

edit: people are starting to say some "my worst nightmare" or "eeeww no that one is yucky and scary" comments on this like they do on any bug post and id like to say. it's fine if you don't like bugs it's fine if you're scared of bugs but don't put that on MY post clearly talking about how much i like them and how cute i think they are. you can make your own damn post about how much you hate wasps or spiders or whatever. i'm blocking people who make these kinds of comments.

[gobliniguess]

This is not a want, but a NEED

I baked some beetle bread!! <3

[daydreamodyssey]

*helps a bug outside so people don't kill it*

*flash forward and I'm convicted of a crime I didn't commit*

*no lawyer touches the case for me*

*everyone hears a buzz and turns around*

*the bug is wearing a tiny suit with a tiny suitcase and becomes my defense attorney*

[saucingitup]

and this is why baseball is the best sport (see also: these baseball sidequests)

[heartnosekid]

antlered flutter flies (toxonevra superba) | this_mama_fetz on ig

[cata-intheflesh]

The slimy shower curtain bugs me more than the chill daddy long legs that's minding his own.

hate when people are like "ew gross a bug in the shower" hes literally clean?? hes been showering with me for weeks

[ratcandy]

we just keep naming bugs like this

[giantpredatorymollusk]

the term "phasmid," meaning "stick insect," comes from a latin word meaning "apparition" or "phantom," due to the creatures' ability to hide in plain sight, and then move around and scare people.

the largest phasmids likely remain undiscovered; the longest insect known to science was a phasmid from a species that remains formally unnamed and undescribed, even since being captured for the first time in china in 2014.

a female specimen of the quasi-mythical australian species of gargantuan stick insect was sought by a curator of museum victoria for three years before he encountered one, also in 2014. upon realizing what it was, he says, “I started screaming."

[swagvo1d]

small artists

[clustxr]

ALSO!! don’t plant milkweed if you’re within 5 miles of the coast!! (some experts say 2 miles, but 5 is safest.) monarchs overwinter by the coast in many places and planting milkweed in those places can lead to the same issues listed above that tropical milkweed has, especially off-season breeding.

i know this is true for the western/california population, not as sure about the eastern population, but please do your research and check regardless!

Some of you may have heard about Monarch butterflies being added to the Threatened species list in the US and be planning to immediately rush out in spring and buy all the milkweed you can manage to do your part and help the species.

And that's fantastic!! Starting a pollinator garden and/or encouraging people and businesses around you to do the same is an excellent way to help not just Monarchs but many other threatened and at-risk pollinator species!

However.

Please please PLEASE do not obtain Tropical Milkweed for this purpose!

Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica)--also commonly known as bloodflower, Mexican butterflyweed, and scarlet milkweed--will likely be the first species of milkweed you find for sale at most nurseries. It'll be fairly cheap, too, and it grows and propagates so easily you'll just want to grab it! But do not do that!

Tropical milkweed can cause a host of issues that can ultimately harm the butterflies you're trying to help, such as--

Harboring a protozoan parasite called OE (which has been linked to lower migration success, reductions in body mass, lifespan, mating success, and flight ability) for long periods of time

Remaining alive for longer periods, encouraging breeding during migration time/overwintering time as well as keeping monarchs in an area until a hard freeze wherein which they die

Actually becoming toxic to monarch caterpillars when exposed to warmer temperatures associated with climate change

However--do not be discouraged!! There are over 100 species of milkweed native to the United States, and plenty of resources on which are native to your state specifically! From there, you can find the nurseries dedicated to selling native milkweeds, or buy/trade for/collect seeds to grow them yourself!!

The world of native milkweeds is vast and enchanting, and I'm sure you'll soon find a favorite species native to your area that suits your growing space! There's tons of amazing options--whether you choose the beautiful pink vanilla-smelling swamp milkweed, the sophisticated redring milkweed, the elusive purple milkweed, the alluring green antelopehorn milkweed, or the charming heartleaf milkweed, or even something I didn't list!

And there's tons of resources and lots of people willing to help you on your native milkweed journey! Like me! Feel free to shoot me an ask if you have any questions!

Just. PLEASE. Leave the tropical milkweed alone. Stay away.

TLDR: Start a pollinator garden to help the monarchs! Just don't plant tropical milkweed. There's hundreds of other milkweeds to grow instead!