@eurycantha - Tumblr Blog

hi bug friends!

I haven’t worked with bugs in a long time, however, the bug zoo that most of my posts were from is in danger! Due to federal funding losses, the Iowa State University Insect Zoo will be closed.

There is a petition regarding this decision. If you care for bugs, youth, and science communication, considering signing: https://www.change.org/p/save-the-isu-insect-zoo

Save the ISU Insect Zoo!!!

#bugs #arthropod #bugblr

eurycantha

if you’re a fat squishy beetle larva you are so valid

should be illegal to be so small

#arthropod #bugblr #entomology #x #bugs #insects #coleoptera #beetle

female common green darner (anax junius)

#odonata #bugblr #entomology #arthropod #bugs #insects #odes #x

halloween pennant

#arthropod #bugblr #entomology #x #bugs #insects #odonata #odes

variegated meadowhawk

#arthropod #bugblr #entomology #x #bugs #insects #odonata #odes

reanimateobjects

I didn’t plan to make this look like a romantic scene from an 80s movie, but the soft focus does fit this couple nicely…

widow skimmer & calico pennant

#entomology #bugblr #arthropod #bugs #iowa #odonata #odes #dragonfly #ecology #x

snootyfoxfashion

Insect Jewelry from KiliMidi

x / x / x / x / x

hi, do u have any tips for getting over a fear of bugs? I dont hate bugs, I understand their importance to our ecosystem and world, and just by scrolling through your blog i can appreciate how impressive and beautiful some are. But still when i see close up pictures and focus on pretty much any feature of a bug, i jerk back, cover my eyes, get a repulsed, nauseous feeling... just wondering why so many people get this reaction to bugs, if you ever did, and if u have tips for coexisting! Thx

honestly, i don’t have a whole lot of tips because i was never really scared of them.

i would look at it objectively and try and figure out what exactly makes you uncomfortable about them. do you find them unsanitary? do you feel like they will hurt you? i used to be nervous when it came to handling our female jungle nymph walking sticks, because they are very reactive, spiny, and strong. but i thought it over and decided the worst thing that could happen was being poked by her legs, and i’m not as on edge when handling them anymore. but, for example, take a single grasshopper. utterly harmless, the worst thing they can do is vomit on you to make themselves taste bad.

once you understand or are familiar with what exactly skeeves you out about invertebrates, i would begin handling them or learning more about them. how walking sticks have awful eyesight and assume any vertical surface (including you) is a tree and will begin climbing upwards to find the best leaves. how there’s 4,500+ species of cockroach in the world and less than 1% are pest species, and most of them would prefer to live in the forest and be nature’s garbagemen. how mother centipedes will carefully cradle their eggs to keep them safe and clean. anything that could make you more comfortable with the concept of them.

a lot of inherent fear of invertebrates comes from evolutionary self-preservation, since some of them are in fact dangerous, or were especially dangerous before modern medicine. invertebrates can and do spread disease, can have venom or be poisonous, and can generally injure and cause infection. but, we know how to handle, and personally i understand the body language of more potentionally harmful species and know when to leave them alone.

i would just continue to expose yourself to them and remind yourself that they are (usually) harmless and become aware of what may be making you feel this way. and there’s nothing wrong with fear! personally i think people who learn about and understand the importance of bugs despite their fear, are much more impressive than those of us who were never afraid. so be proud!

#asks

Tbh i don't have an issue with bugs (other than cockroaches i have a serious phobia of them which makes me sad) but i struggle finding good pictures of centipedes, spiders, and other common bugs that are feared. It seems like every time i try to find a picture for reference it's creepy and doesn't seem right, but on bug blogs like this i have no problem with it?? Like absolutely 0 issues? It really confuses me but thanks for all the bug pictures!! Your blog really helps with drawing these cuties

of course!! us bug blogs appreciate your support!! :)) i’d say it has something to do with the light that we present the animals in. we see and display them as cute and friendly, so they come off that way!

also if you ever post anything and use any of my pictures as reference i would love to see!!

#asks

hi! im not exactly sure how much you know about millipede care but im going to be keeping millipedes soon (ivories and possibly american giants as well) and so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask! ive seen a few sources say that millipedes cannot have isopods in their enclosure if they breed because the isopods will eat the eggs, but ive seen isopods in several different pede enclosures that seem to be doing fine so I was wondering which is recommended - yay or nay?

hey!! i’ve never heard of isopods causing a problem with breeding millipedes. they cohabit well, and isopods feed on overpopulations of mites. of course get other sources, but as far as i know it’s A-okay! we’ve always housed isopods and millipedes together.

#asks #millipedes #isopods

hey everyone! follow the official instagram of our insect zoo! https://instagram.com/isuinsectzoo?igshid=3xbztmfm22xe

128 Followers, 97 Following, 26 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Iowa State Univ Insect Zoo (@isuinsectzoo)

#insects #spiders #bugblr

onenicebugperday

Giant Vinegaroon, Mastigoproctus giganteus Native to the southwestern United States and Mexico Photos by old-bean-adams

Bonus cool photo - female with egg sac!

Photo by Acrocynus

Bonus extra cool photo - the underside!

(RIP) Photo by jaico

onenicebugperday

Un Crache-Sang , dans les calanques de Marseille

Philoursmars

Ahhh what a nice beetle! A fun fact about bloody-nosed beetles is that they exude bright red hemolymph (bug blood) by breaking membranes in their mouths as a defensive behavior - the hemolymph apparently tastes very bad to predators. Here’s a nice photo of that: