#small-godds

[onenicebugperday]

Hello hello! A fun question for you, if you'd like!

I'm working on developing a fantasy world for a fun personal project, and right now I'm working on gathering inspiration for dragons. I'm particularly fond of dragons that don't fit the stereotypical dragon description, so I'm turning to the natural world for inspiration. So, my question is, what bugs do you think would make good dragons?? If they were very large, what bugs do you think might make good transportation, entertainment, etc? Dragonfly is obvious bc dragon is in the name, but are there any others that make you go "I wanna see that guy BIG and DRAGON"

I want to see literally every bug big and as a dragon. I feel like it would be especially fun to take a bug that's normally thought of as cute/harmless and make it dragon-y. Something perhaps like ladybugs, which are voracious predators, but everyone thinks of them as cute little garden pals. Which they are! But not if you're an aphid.

If you want something fiercer looking, mantids would make cool dragons and they come in all kinds of crazy colors and shapes. My fav species, Idolomantis diabolica, would make a really badass dragon.

Good transportation: millipede bus! Especially flat-backed millipedes, which would have more seating. Or giant tiger beetles as war horses.

Entertainment would depend on exactly what you had in mind for the type of entertainment I suppose.

[onenicebugperday]

I just wanted to thank you bc somehow "freshly peeled angel" has made its way into my everyday vocabulary, not just for freshly molted bugs. Everything that once had an outer layer that does not anymore is a freshly peeled angel to me. Sheared sheep? Freshly peeled angel. Plant unfurled a leaf? Freshly peeled angel. The snake shed? Well, that's a freshly peeled angel if I've ever seen one! It's brought a lot of lighthearted joy into my life :]

I was JUST thinking freshly peeled angel about some newly sheared sheeps today. Truly you can apply it to so many things

[onenicebugperday]

Every time someone submits a bug for ID and I don't know the bug (which I would say is almost every time) I either out loud or in my head go "I diagnose you.... with Little Guy" and then proceed to actually learn what the bug is through your ID. Every bug is a Little Guy to me

Every bug is a little guy (gender neutral) to me too :')

[onenicebugperday]

After scrolling through many of the recent asks and submissions you've posted, I've started to pay more attention to the common and scientific names of lots of bugs, and seeing names like wooly bear got me thinking - are there any downright silly bug names? I love when creatures or things get silly common or scientific names like Scaptia beyonceae or sonic hedgehog protein. Do you have any favourites? Any that make you smile?

There are a ton named after famous people! Freddie Mercury has both an isopod, a stonefly, AND a damselfly named after him. What a lucky guy. Barack Obama has a hosrehair worm named after him which makes me insane with jealousy.

As for ones not named after famous people, there are too many to remember offhand, but Agra cadabra, Ba humbugi, and Aha ha come to mind! There’s also an unfortunte beetle called Colon rectum :\

[onenicebugperday]

In honour of me seeing the first worm of the spring/summer season yesterday when it rained, do you have any fun facts or pictures to admire about/of common earthworms? I think they're so neat!

Oh, worm!! Boy it seems late in the year to be seeing a first earthworm! Perhaps you're up north. Anyway WORMS. Very good. The common earthworm is the species Lumbricus terrestris. In the US we often call them nightcrawlers. They’re native to Europe, but are found all over the dang world now. Did you know? Once one was found that was over two feet long. Love an enormous worm. Wish I coulda kissed them.

There’s a myth that you can chop a worm in half and it’ll become two worms, but that’s not true! Worms have a head and vital organs that they need to live. It could probably survive losing some of the back end, but try to avoid chopping them when gardening just in case.

They are considered invasive in many parts of the US, particularly in temperate forests because they disrupt vital nutrient cycles, but at this point they’re so widespread that I don’t think there’s much we can do as individuals.

Anyhoo let’s admire one...

LONG

Mildly iridescent!!!

Excellent :) Photos by marina_gorbunova

[onenicebugperday]

Because of your blog, I can now look at any bug and tell whether or not it's a weevil. It's an entirely useless talent irl bc I've never seen a weevil here, but now whenever I see someone asking for an ID on your blog I can confidently say whether or not it's a weevil. This is because I spend a lot of my free time looking at weevil pictures on this blog (I think they look like this :--•) and that's just so good!!)

I think that's an incredibly useful talent! Who knows when you will need to utilize it in an emergency. I'll bet you have seen a weevil in the past and just didn't know it! They're everywhere...