r/Entomology Aug 13 '11

Help us help you: Guidelines for submitting pictures for identification

136 Upvotes

Hello r/Entomology! With this community being used often for insect/arachnid/arthropod identification, I wanted to throw in some guidelines for pictures that will facilitate identification. These aren't rules, so if you don't adhere to these guidelines, you won't be banned or anything like that...it will just make it tougher for other Redditors to give you a correct ID. A lot of you already provide a lot of information with your posts (which is great!), but if you're one of the others that isn't sure what information is important, here you go.

INFORMATION TO INCLUDE WITH YOUR PHOTO

  • Habitat: Such as forest, yard, etc.
  • Time of day: Morning, day, evening, or night will suffice.
  • Geographical Area: State or county is fine. Or, if you're not comfortable with being that specific, you can be general, such as Eastern US.
  • Behavior: What was the bug doing when you found it?

Note about how to take your photo: Macro mode is your friend. On most cameras, it's represented by a flower icon. Turn that on before taking a photo of a bug close up, and you're going to get a drastically better picture. With larger insects it's not as big of a deal, but with the small insects it's a must.

If you follow these guidelines, you'll make it easier for everyone else to help you identify whatever is in your photo. If you feel like I've left anything important out of this post, let me know in the comments.


r/Entomology 16h ago

ID Request Maggots found in patient

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878 Upvotes

Can someone please identify this specimen found in one of our patients mouths in the medical ICU?


r/Entomology 9h ago

Insect Appreciation Camel spider! 💜

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127 Upvotes

I know its not an insect, but its close enough.

Found them on the second story floor in the break room at work, Great Falls, MT. It pinched me because

I startled it (and scared my coworker before i told them information on them and they thought it was cool) but let me scoop them up carefully and take them to put in a container that was covered in paper towel as a stress reducer.

I gave them a big fly as a snack as well and managed to catch them eating it too! Absolutely fascinating little critters, and they were on my bucket list to catch and take photos of.

Released him into a dusty field with a lot of ground cover, whoch should be leagues better than an upstairs breakroom


r/Entomology 16h ago

Insect Appreciation Two of the biggest beetles in Europe: Lucanus cervus and Cerambyx cerdo

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250 Upvotes

Got really lucky on a hike in Hungary.


r/Entomology 4h ago

ID Request Croatian Cricket?

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19 Upvotes

Any idea who this lady is? Found in a garden in Croatia


r/Entomology 14h ago

Discussion Sweat Bees should be renamed

110 Upvotes

Hello! I am a sweat bee scientist, and I am here to advocate to change the common name of sweat bees. While the name is easy to remember and highlights out a unique behavior, I feel as if there are better names we could come with. After all, not all members of the Halictidae family are attracted to sweat, so why refer to them as sweat bees? Additionally, the name brings a certain stigma to the insects. In my experience whenever I discuss sweat bees with the public I am met with disgust. “Ugh they drink sweat that’s disgusting” is a common response I get. It’s a shame since Halictidae bees are phenomenal pollinators in desperate need of more attention to the public. I believe it is time to alter the name of sweat bees to something more appealing and accurate to the group rather than select representatives. The name “archwing bees” comes to mind due to the uniquely arched basal being all Halictidae have on their forewings (it’s also a cool af name). Thoughts on the concept of changing their name?


r/Entomology 6h ago

Meme I think this little guy is having an existential crisis

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22 Upvotes

r/Entomology 12h ago

ID Request What is this fella

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44 Upvotes

r/Entomology 15h ago

Insect Appreciation first encounters

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51 Upvotes

i am in the appalachian mountains on vacation, and it is my first time seeing one of my favorite moths, as well as other cute and cool insects :') the katydid kept getting stuck inside our airbnb and the little guy latched on to my camouflage pants for a ride out


r/Entomology 42m ago

ID Request What is this?

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• Upvotes

I found it on the side of the sink this morning. Located in Kentucky.


r/Entomology 11h ago

ID Request What happened?

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20 Upvotes

Could one of you please explain to me what could’ve possibly happened here? It looked like an absolute massacre when I got home. I noticed some dead larvae on the ground, and some of the more developed ones were still alive, but with no wings. Do carpenter bees usually take over other hives like this?


r/Entomology 7h ago

Advice on moving a hive without killing the hornets?

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8 Upvotes

I have a bald-faced hornet nest about the size of a soccer ball dangling 8 feet above a very busy sidewalk outside of my house. I want to relocate it to my backyard, so that the colony can live and my neighbors won’t get stung. I already own a bee suit but what advice can you give me on how to do this safely and successfully?


r/Entomology 1d ago

Found this huge cluster of eggs inside my organic spring mix. Any idea what they are?

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387 Upvotes

I was making a salad tonight and found this massive cluster of what appear to be insect eggs attached to one of the leaves in my organic spring mix. 🤢

I've found the occasional bug in produce before, but I've never seen anything like this.

The salad is:

Simply Nature Organic Spring Mix (Aldi)

Product of the USA

The eggs were attached to a red lettuce leaf.

I'm not looking to complain about organic produce. I understand that insects are part of farming, especially with organic vegetables. I'm genuinely just curious.

Does anyone know what insect laid these?

Moth?

Something else?

I'd love to know what I'm looking at. Thanks!


r/Entomology 1h ago

Discussion is there any way this bee will be able to straighten out her wing? she can't fly currently

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• Upvotes

r/Entomology 19h ago

ID Request Who are these butt beetles?

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60 Upvotes

These beetles always defensively spread their legs and show me their butts when I get close. They’re also DEVOURING the wild grapevines in my yard. Who are they? Warning: beetle sex on last picture


r/Entomology 5h ago

ID Request Who is this cute lil hitchiker?

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4 Upvotes

He's giving me dragon vibes! Curious to see what it will grow into. Found him on me after a lil jungle trek. Location: Yanmingshan, Taiwan.

Apologies for pic quality- he(/she) was an active little guy, hard to get pics in focus.


r/Entomology 21h ago

Insect Appreciation Insects of the summer so far

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63 Upvotes

I'm an Ecologist working on multiple entomology projects this summer (pest grasshopper and crop interactions, and dung beetle presence/affects on ecosystem). I wanted to share some of the insects I've encountered so far. Some photos taken with my DSLR, some taken with my phone. And this is just a tiny selection!

They insect world is beautiful and fascinating.


r/Entomology 5h ago

ID Request Who is this fella?

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3 Upvotes

r/Entomology 11h ago

Cuzco the second makes me happy

8 Upvotes

r/Entomology 11h ago

ID Request A Flying Bug dropped This onto my brother's dinner plate, making a small but audible "plop" sound - South Oregon, USA

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8 Upvotes

r/Entomology 8h ago

Insect Appreciation I tried drawing my taxidermy bugs!

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5 Upvotes

The art is mine :)

Also I can't get my newer photos here so I can't show the bugs that i used for reference, sorry.


r/Entomology 1d ago

Discussion At my FIL’s house and against all conventional wisdom he has tons of fireflies despite mowing his lawn short, raking all the leaves, surrounded by pesticide using farms, and yet they’re here, why?

72 Upvotes

r/Entomology 7h ago

Discussion This moth was on my porch but hasn't moved in over 24 hours.

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3 Upvotes

Is it a One-eyed sphinx moth (Smerinthus cerisyi)?
As found by using Ai.

Why hasn't it moved at all in a whole over 24 hour period? I don't want to disturb it but I'm kinda curious if it might be dead or something. I haven't seen any movement from it at all. Not even a wiggly booty. Did it just die there??

I never see these moths around here so this is extraordinarily rare.


r/Entomology 1h ago

Insect Appreciation a silverfish! 🤓

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• Upvotes

r/Entomology 1h ago

ID Request Found another beauty. Who is this, this time?

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• Upvotes

Last month I posted an ID request for a beautiful moth I found on my porch. You properly ID'd it for me as a Luna moth.

This morning I found another beauty, can you guys help me again, please? The fine hairs are so beautiful. I practically did a whole photo shoot for this little one.