Any other hobby entomologists here?

[TOMTE]

I'm not anything serious, but I do LOVE bugs, withspiders being far and away my favorite. I actually kicked a friend out of my house once for smashing a spider - she knew me, and had been warned! As a child mom let me keep a black widow in a critter keeper, and I was always building temporary enclosures for doodlebugs, observing them for a day, and then releasing them. I've had hissing roaches, emperor scorpions, green bottle blue and red knee tarantulas as pets, and I currently have a couple little terrariums, one with bark scorpions and another with a jumping spider. I also have false death heads (which I find easier keepers than dubias) and mealworms, but those are poultry treats and not pets - though the roaches are so cute I always feel guilty feeding them to birds.
I just do  not understand the fear of bugs at all - to me it's as unfathomable as not liking chickens! And to not like spiders seems even less reasonable to me; if you don't like bugs, wouldn't you appreciate a creature that eats so many of them?
I could go on and on, but I have to round up the birds for the night. I may come back with some pictures.

Spider lovers are some of the best people. PLEASE share your pics when you get the time, I'd love to see!! It would be so cool to keep a black widow. Surprisingly I haven't seen many around here, even in the wood pile at the border of the woods on our property. The one I have seen was a juvenile and it was living under the top of the bird bath

 

[GlicksChicks]

4) Dragonfly ID pending... *scratching my head*

That looks like a Common Baskettail!

I've loved bugs since I was small. I think they are some of the most interesting animals and their lives should be appreciated a lot more than they are.

Same here! I was always the kid who would sit outside and watch the bugs. I would give food to ant colonies and watch them eat them. I would put grasshoppers into spiderwebs to watch them do their thing!

everything I learn about bugs comes from at-home research.

Sometimes that can be the best way to do it! You can research what you want instead of what a class wants you to!

what are some of your favorites? Which ones do you find the most interesting? Do you keep any bugs as pets or to study?

My favorites are: Jumping spiders (So dang cute), Longhorn Beetles (I need to get me one), Wolf Spiders, Fishing Spiders (If you haven't heard of it, you should definitely look it up.), Butterflies (Mostly Monarchs), and Tarantulas.

Bugs I have had, both as pets and to study are:
- Wolf Spider (Both normal and Rabid)
- Fishing Spider
- Jumping Spider
- Monarch Butterflies (I raised them to release them until I moved to Texas.)
- Black Swallowtail Butterfly
-Damselfly
- Mealworms (These are for my chickens, but they are pretty cool!)

wasps and hornets!

I'd love to keep a scorpion

Those are 3 I can't stand, but to each their own! I could probably own a Scorpion, but I would never touch it.

and/or wolf spider someday.

Wolf spiders are pretty cool, and it is nice that they can't climb, so you don't have to be as worried about them.

 

[TOMTE]

That looks like a Common Baskettail!

I think you're right! Thank you! I was seriously so lost on that one

Those are 3 I can't stand, but to each their own! I could probably own a Scorpion, but I would never touch it.

Wasps and hornets are generally pretty docile, I've realized. I'm gonna post a video of the bald-faced hornet nest that was in a tree right beside our driveway last year. I handled a handful of them throughout the season and was only stung once (my fault, I completely ignored her body language when she was clearly telling me to leave her alone)

With scorpions at least (and tarantulas) you generally aren't supposed to handle them anyway unless it's necessary for health checks and stuff, since it stresses them out. That would be hard for me

 

[TOMTE]

Summer 2023 bald-faced hornet nest! It was AMAZING to watch this nest grow. Actually, they had to build two nests, because the first one was destroyed (accidentally) by a UPS truck... The driver was stung quite a few times

They rebuilt really quickly though, recycling some of the paper from their old nest! Here's a picture of the nests together (the smaller one is the one that got destroyed— literally torn in half by the side mirror of the mail truck)

It was a good sized nest by the end. Not nearly the biggest they can get, it was about the size of a basketball.

For some reason, a lot of adults were emerging with no wings or damaged wings. They were also dropping a lot of their larvae onto the ground. I'm not sure how normal this is since I've never had the chance to observe them like this before. I really hope that I get the chance to again!! It was so much fun!

 

[PrettyBirdRocky]

Hopefully you can see the Bald faced hornets nest. It's in our back tree and with the exception of wasps building on our porch, we let them build wherever. (Except yellow jackets, unfortunately my hubby and son are allergic so they go)

They had a nest a couple years ago that died and fell down, it's hanging in our kitchen. I'll get a photo after work.

 

[GlicksChicks]

I think you're right! Thank you! I was seriously so lost on that one

Of course!

Wasps and hornets are generally pretty docile, I've realized.

Really? I always freeze up when one comes towards me. I am like, nuh uh, leave me alone . If they aren't messing with me, I act like they don't exist lol.

With scorpions at least (and tarantulas) you generally aren't supposed to handle them anyway unless it's necessary for health checks and stuff, since it stresses them out.

I just see all those videos of people holding Scorpions and stuff and I am just like 👁👁 boi. I would hold a tarantula if the chance arises though.

 

[GlicksChicks]

Love that tarantulas live in the wild here!

 

[TOMTE]

Hopefully you can see the Bald faced hornets nest. It's in our back tree and with the exception of wasps building on our porch, we let them build wherever. (Except yellow jackets, unfortunately my hubby and son are allergic so they go)

They had a nest a couple years ago that died and fell down, it's hanging in our kitchen. I'll get a photo after work.

I wanted to keep this one but by the time all of the wasps had died, I decided to leave it up for the birds and other critters to recycle. I did eventually cut it down, but mold had started growing between the layers of comb

 

[TOMTE]

Really? I always freeze up when one comes towards me. I am like, nuh uh, leave me alone . If they aren't messing with me, I act like they don't exist lol.

(Most) bugs don't have the best vision. You're just another part of the landscape to a wasp or hornet!

Certain colors and scents attract them so they might hover around you for a while trying to figure out what you are, and at that point you can just gently wave them away (it might take a few tries until they get the picture). I don't mind it though, and I'll let them land on me to smell/taste around until they realize I don't have anything to offer them.

If you're nervous they will pick up on it. Mostly that's because of physical changes you're exhibiting that you might not even pick up on, like jerkier movements and heavier breathing. If you keep yourself calm and respect their space there's no reason they should think of you as a threat

In fact a lot of stings that come "out of nowhere" are due to proximity to the nest. Wasps and hornets are very proactive about protecting their queens, eggs and larvae. If you accidentally brush up against a nest that you don't see, and they take that as a threat, they're going to do what they can to drive off the threat!

 

[GlicksChicks]

(Most) bugs don't have the best vision. You're just another part of the landscape to a wasp or hornet!

Certain colors and scents attract them so they might hover around you for a while trying to figure out what you are, and at that point you can just gently wave them away (it might take a few tries until they get the picture). I don't mind it though, and I'll let them land on me to smell/taste around until they realize I don't have anything to offer them.

If you're nervous they will pick up on it. Mostly that's because of physical changes you're exhibiting that you might not even pick up on, like jerkier movements and heavier breathing. If you keep yourself calm and respect their space there's no reason they should think of you as a threat

In fact a lot of stings that come "out of nowhere" are due to proximity to the nest. Wasps and hornets are very proactive about protecting their queens, eggs and larvae. If you accidentally brush up against a nest that you don't see, and they take that as a threat, they're going to do what they can to drive off the threat!

I'll keep that all in mind!