/r/Entomology

Photograph via snooOG

Entomology: the branch of zoology concerned with the study of insects

All insect and science related posts are welcome!

Entomology is the scientific study of insects, as well as arachnids, myriapods and crustaceans. All are welcome!

Rules:

  • Follow reddiquette. Slurs and personal attacks will be dealt with strictly. Don't be a jerk.
  • No bug hate. Calling for unwarranted harm to our leggy friends can result in a ban. Discussion about the ethical destruction of invasive species and certain pests is permitted.
  • No bite identification requests. Due to the low success rate of IDing bites and the danger of misdiagnoses we ask that you seek professional assistance instead of posting here.
  • ID requests should include an image of the animal. We can help identify animals that could cause harm, we cannot identify harm that may have been caused by an animal.
  • No selling. At moderator's discretion posts selling on this subreddit will be removed. Exceptions for art, specimens and other related products of quality may be made.

Not sure if your post breaks the rules? Message us!


Please try to follow our guidelines for bug identification requests.

If your submission doesn't show up in /new please message the mods.

And if you're interested in more, check out our wiki page for related subreddits.

/r/Entomology

240,002 Subscribers

4

Got this fella unstuck on our entrance door to our office. Any idea what beetle species this is? I’m in Brunei if that helps.

1 Comment
2024/12/02
01:46 UTC

6

Parasitic wasp laying eggs in beetle larvae (Paropsisterna cloelia?). Wasp species?

1 Comment
2024/12/02
01:13 UTC

3

Is the concept of "bug years" similar to dog and cat years practical

For this, v we will only be using insects that go through an incomplete metamorphosis. Grasshoppers crickets katydids cockroaches and praying mantises, as well as some species of true bugs like stink bugs. Because insects that go through complete on metamorphosis sometimes have ridiculously long marvel lives compared to ridiculously short adult lives

Is a system of "bug years" ever used, I often assume crickets and grasshoppers seen around the fall time with wings would be "in there late 70s" in bug years, because this is usually around the time t were these bugs will mate, my eggs, and then die

0 Comments
2024/12/02
00:46 UTC

273

Hershey's Owl moth

7 Comments
2024/12/01
23:26 UTC

1

He has crawlies and grabbers!!!

My girlfriend would like to know what this is

1 Comment
2024/12/01
23:00 UTC

9

Bumblebees on a sunflower

0 Comments
2024/12/01
22:22 UTC

1

Found these bugs in my bioactive leopard gecko tank floating in the water dish, got a live one under the microscope. Is this a blood sucking mite, tick or flea? or something harmless? TIA!

I recently (a few days ago) added new soil to my geckos enclosures and I noticed extremely small (almost invisible) bugs crawling around both their cages. I caught one that was floating in the water dish and got a pic under a microscope to try to ID to make sure they arent a species that can harm my lizards.

I am praying I dont have to redo my entire terrariums but I want to be safe.

Closeup from the video ( i think it lost a couple back legs in the process of me catching it and its suspended in water from the bowl on the slide)

0 Comments
2024/12/01
22:04 UTC

9

Swallowtail butterfly

0 Comments
2024/12/01
21:49 UTC

4

Can anyone ID?

So, about a month and half ago (Oct. 11th) I found this bug on my dad's car. I did some research and it seems to be a moth, of the hellinsia genus to be precise. However, I live in Italy and I've read that this type of moths shouldn't be found here, anyone knows what it could be? Thanks for the help! :)

4 Comments
2024/12/01
21:36 UTC

4

A gorgeous monkey slug caterpillar (Mogi das Cruzes - Brazil)

People call them “lagarta-aranha”, or spider-caterpillar in Portuguese — which I personally think is a way more appropriate name… Anyway, this is one beautiful fellow, I hope you enjoy!

0 Comments
2024/12/01
21:29 UTC

1

is my caterpillar overwintering or should I be worried?

I've been keeping a Noctua pronuba caterpillar for a few days now, and it has become pretty sluggish and not active at all. It mostly stays buried in the soil for most of the day and only comes out during the evening/night. I'm really worried about him - is this a normal thing? I read somewhere that these caterpillars can overwinter and become moths in the spring but I'm not sure if that's what's happening. If it is though how can I take care of him during it?

When I first found him he was very active and ate a ton but now I haven't seen him eat in a while even though I give him fresh leaves every day. I also make sure to mist his enclosure. I know he's well in the sense that he moves around every night since I find him buried in a different spot every morning.

I might just be overreacting but is this normal/is this how overwintering looks like in caterpillars? If so how can I care for him until spring to ensure he's doing well? Any other tips are appreciated, I've only kept one kind of caterpillar in the past and this guy has me worried.

0 Comments
2024/12/01
21:25 UTC

14

Garden spider (Araneus diadematus)

0 Comments
2024/12/01
20:32 UTC

2

I’ve found a centipede ( questions about preserving it)

Background:

It’s a red headed centipede, found in Texas, scolopendra heros I think

They get quite large but this one is only about 5 inches

Found it dead in my grandmothers garage, unsurprisingly it’s insides appear to be eaten( there are some holes in the carapace and I can only assume it’s been dead for a while...I hope it is still workable tho)

I think these things are extremely cool and want to try pinning one and putting it in resin (I’m not an expert at this so if you guys have any qualms with resin let me know because it seems like it’s not very common in this community though I don’t know the reason)

I have soaking in vodka (ik it’s worse than ethanol or isopropyl, but it was literally all I had) to kill any micro organisms that might have been eating it and to maybe restore some flexibility to it, how long do yall recommend soaking it for to make sure every thing is dead?

I’d like to hear y’all’s opinions on what I might be doing wrong and how to approach this process because I’m not by any means super knowledgeable and I do not want to mess this up

0 Comments
2024/12/01
19:49 UTC

801

What is this goofy fella?

I LOVE LITTLE GUY AHAHAGSJSFHSGS

42 Comments
2024/12/01
19:31 UTC

67

A rosy girl came to our thanks giving

2 Comments
2024/12/01
18:29 UTC

1

Are there any arthropods the exhibit coparenting?

Was super interested to learn how amazingly earwigs and giant water bugs care for their young, but that kind of parenting only involves the mother or the father, respectively. Are there any arthropods that display coparenting behaviour, or is that exclusively restricted to those that are eusocial?

2 Comments
2024/12/01
17:46 UTC

6

Found this little dude in one of my houseplants. Was wondering what species he is. He is very small, maybe 0.5 cm long. Location: Switzerland (Sorry for the bad picture)

1 Comment
2024/12/01
17:10 UTC

2

what kind of insect is this?

This is the corpse of an insect I caught in the grapes. Would you tell me, please, what kind of scoundrel is this? :)

https://preview.redd.it/t5eqlzyi994e1.jpg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=15cd50190b9d7e70a3004d77246caa743403f392

2 Comments
2024/12/01
15:27 UTC

1

What type of nymph is this?

Found 2 dead in my upstairs bath. Have seen the occasional dead American cockroach. Hoping it’s that and not German variety. I do have quarterly pesto

5 Comments
2024/12/01
15:21 UTC

172

Such vibrant colors to this beautiful moth!

1 Comment
2024/12/01
15:11 UTC

0

what gift should i get for my girlfriend

my girlfriend enjoys collecting butterflies and id like to know what i should get for her to drive that passion of hers

3 Comments
2024/12/01
15:10 UTC

4

Dung Beetle Rolling Dung | Maswa, Tanzania

0 Comments
2024/12/01
10:16 UTC

1

Anyone know a good website or someone selling phasmids, Im from the Philippines. I need it for school purposes.

0 Comments
2024/12/01
04:47 UTC

1

Dragonfly fell into grease

Today while my dad was working outside a dragonfly flew into the grease he was working with. Dad picked it up and gave it to me and my sister, and after attempting to clean it and putting it in the old stick insect travel container, we realised that one of its wings had been partially ripped. We don't think it's doing great, and are planning on just leaving it in the rose garden, but if there's any way we can help it would be most appreciated.

2 Comments
2024/12/01
04:14 UTC

27

i found a redback !! it's like the first one i've ever seen and i'm an aussie

1 Comment
2024/12/01
03:51 UTC

4

Need help with identifying caterpillars on my kaffir lime tree in Singapore

Hi people, would love to get some help identifying these 2 caterpillars I found on my plant today. Apologies for the image quality I dont have a very good camera.

  • Habitat: found on my kaffir lime tree houseplant outside my flat
  • Time of day: 8am
  • Geographical region: Southeast Asia, Singapore
  • What were they doing? Chewing leaves! They'd chewed up about 2 7cm-long leaves each when I found them. None of the other leaves or houseplants (a purple waffle plant, a scindapsus and a monstera) next to the lime tree appear to be affected.

I checked the whole tree (its not that big) and the rest of my houseplants and there doesnt seem to be any more of them.

I've removed them from the tree and given them the remainder of their chewed up leaves in the meantime. Would love to keep them around but I dont know how much damage they might do.

1 Comment
2024/12/01
02:28 UTC

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