real life BUG WATCH! If you find a fun insect, report it here!

[zj]

Hey y'all! 

Today I went to the bug watch thread - and I got so excited! Not because I love computer errors, but because I thought the thread was about interesting looking insects! The realization made me a bit sad, until I remembered I can make my own thread!

So, post any interesting looking bugs here :) I'll start:

This adorable lil guy is a rosy maple moth!


You don't need to find it personally irl, my example is from the web :)

[larvapuppy]

Nice thread idea! The rosy maple moth is charming indeed.

I'm a bug fan myself, though not really a bug expert. Here is a little guy who decided to land on me before I got in my car a few weeks ago. He had fun crawling all over my hand during the car ride. Not sure what kind of beetle he is, but he was super cute, I loved watching his little legs running around. And what a handsome face!

[Skykristal]

I love buuuugs!
we currently have a ladybug in our kitchen. Saw him again yesterday.
I assume its an asian ladybug. I pretty much only see these guys around, the classic red ladybug is rare D: I used to see so many.


(Image Source)


I also have isopods wandering around in my room on occasion.. although I am a bit unsure where they're coming from. I don't have open cracks, a net in front of the windows and closed doors. who knows.. I don't mind them though! I collect them in my plant terrarium, they seem to like it there. I have about 4 or 5 in there now. :'D last addition was 2 days a go.

[WynnDawnstrider]

I took this picture quite some time ago of a very large katydid! (Or maybe it's regular sized, I hadn't really ever seen one before so I didn't know they got this big around where we live)
It's one of those bugs you can hear all the time but unless you're actively looking for them probably don't see nearly as often!

And if you're wondering what they sound like:

[N-RAZM]

I recently discovered this book at a bookstore. It made me think of this thread.



There's lots of interesting bugs in here, but I took pictures to share some of the ones that stuck out to me.


Never heard of lace bugs before, they look pretty cool.



This is a moth that mimics a wasp. There are plenty of animals that mimic other animals, but this one is especially crazy. I would never be able to guess that this thing is a moth.



I love weevils and I love how many different shapes and sizes they come in. This one seems to be mimicking a fly for some reason? The one in the picture looks to be hiding its head and snout against the underside of its body to further increase its flyishness.



This one looks like a Pokémon. The wider parts on its lower legs are filled with air to help with flight.



These little fellas don't look too interesting on their own, but apparently they like to hang out on spiderwebs in groups. Neat!

[pencilz]

Here's this really strange caterpillar I found back up north! It's a skiff moth caterpillar.

[SKAPASTA]

here are some funny insects ive come across personally...dont rly know what the bulk of em are but i found that moth when i out skating. it couldn't fly yet was constantly on the move. plus being on inline skates means i had to be extra careful not to squish him. good thing i know what im doing. took at least 15 minutes to get a good picture

[haumeaGeth]

My most recent bug sighting was a leafhopper! First one of the year!! Unfortunately, I was not able to get a picture, so instead I offer this picture of this dude I found on my driveway last summer (yeah yeah, technically not a "bug", but he deserves some attention too).



I really really like bugs. One of the many reasons I hate winter so much is the lack of bug friends. The only critters that stick around are the yellow sack spiders in my house, but I haven't even seen one of them in a few weeks. The leafhopper sighting really threw me. There's still snow outside, I don't know what that dude was doing up and about.

[haumeaGeth]

YEEEEEEAH THE BASEMENT SENTINELS ARE BACK WOO HOO

[thefanciestpigeon]

drop everything! this is urgent! you heard it here, folks! Pigeon has found a cricket infected with a parasitic fungus! that's so cool! this was literally the best day of my life, I peaked, I will spend the rest of my life chasing this high. i have been telling everyone about this.

I suspect it is icing sugar fungus (Beauveria bassiana) but I am not an expert. it is sorta related to cordyceps in a way my non fungi-knower brain doesn't fully understand. it is used as an insecticide and is apparently very good at killing bedbugs? apparently sometimes it is found to have a parasite itself, resulting in Strange Parasite Inception.... but also it might be a different fungus. I am not sure.

I feel sooooo lucky to have found this in real life, in person, I actually got to see it right in front of me,,, never thought that would happen. finally all my years of looking at the ground instead of making eye contact with people has paid off!




poor bug was dead when I found it but the fungus seemed to be doing pretty good. as I always say, a bad day for a bug might be a good day for a fungus. "death is only the end is you assume the story is about you" -welcome to nightvale

[arctozolt]

Here's a cool bug I encountered. It's a butterfly called a Question Mark (what a silly name!). At first, I thought it was just a dead leaf, but then it opened up and I was sure surprised! It's a very pretty orange! Apparently, the name comes from the small white marking (barely visible on the first image) on the outer wings that resemble a "?"

[haumeaGeth]

Pigeon has found a cricket infected with a parasitic fungus! that's so cool!

THAT IS SO SIIICK! LUCKYYY! ☆

I actually found a butt-less cicada corpse that had some kind of wormy guy in it. He was really tucked in there, tucking into what was left of the cicada's guts, so there was no way for me to identify it. I'd guess some kind of parasitic wasp larva. It was so cool.

[thefanciestpigeon]

I actually found a butt-less cicada corpse that had some kind of wormy guy in it. He was really tucked in there, tucking into what was left of the cicada's guts, so there was no way for me to identify it. I'd guess some kind of parasitic wasp larva. It was so cool.

woah!! I love parasites so much! they are so cool to learn about! you see so much stuff if you only look at the world around you consistently enough! and parasitic wasps can be soo cool especially. i remember learning that some of them are microscopic and just being so amazed at the world around us. like. tiny tiny wasps you can't even see? it's amazing.

[gregmoondancer]

Heres a vid of a silly worm I found a few months ago, the cutest fellow ever

[Razby Ryu]

I don't usually talk that much about bugs, but one that I find cool is the Death's Head Hawkmoth.


A fun fact about it is that it can mimic the sound of a queen bee so it can steal honey from beehives! This is because it's a large and heavy moth, meaning it uses up a lot of energy.