I figured I'd see if others would enjoy an entomology discussion thread after the subject of insects came up in region chat. Entomology, for any who might not know, is the study of insects but has also covered other arthropods to some extent.


Rules

This is just some stuff I came up with to help keep quality discussions, iron out any confusion, and hopefully no arguments. If anyone has any opinions on anything they think should be changed please let me know.

1. Non-insect, land dwelling arthropods like spiders, springtails, centipedes, isopods are allowed! By request, other garden buddies are also allowed such as toads, birds, etc. I would still like insects to be the main topic but it's fun talking about other species of wildlife we run into.

2. Please no talk of killing insects with maybe the exception of invasive species. (I can't decide here exactly)

3. No medical advice. If someone is bit or stung by something, please seek advice from medical experts.

4. I think talk of plants is also fine, at least so long as they're connected to insects somehow. Examples would be discussion of good pollinator or host plants.

5. Regarding monarch butterflies specifically, while raising some to teach kids or for the occasional family enjoyment is understandable, I think it's best to avoid talk of large-scale captive raising. Recent research indicates that despite best intentions that this could be harmful to the species overall. It's also something that can cause arguments and I think it's best to keep this drama free if possible. Xerces' Joint Statement Regarding Captive Breeding and Releasing of Monarchs for anyone wondering what I'm talking about.

6. Showing off cute arthropod pets are allowed. Show off if you've got pets like mantises, jumping spiders, earwigs, isopods, etc.

I'm eventually going to put some stuff about conservation here. A lot of insect species are in decline and there's ways to help mitigate this.

Reserved just in case

I guess I'll start things with how I first got into insects. It wasn't that many years ago. I had bought a yellow purslane that I planted out in one of the front yard garden beds. To my surprise, I happened to see one of the most beautiful insects I had ever seen visiting one of the blooms. It turned out to be a metallic green sweat bee. I had been phobic most of my life of bees and wasps but seeing this gorgeous bee made me want to learn more about them. I found out about native solitary bee species. Then I started delving into wasps as well. Then insects in general. I still tend to like the bees and wasps best though. As far as non-insect arthropods go, I also really jumping spiders a lot.

Getting into solitary bees and wasps also led to me finding out about the benefits of native gardening when it comes to insect conservation. It's been a long process but I'm slowly adding more native plants and I'm always on the look-out for volunteer native plants that occasionally show up.

Here's a green metallic sweat bee.

OK i'm here to actively noncontribute with my fav joke:
What's the difference between and entomologist and an etymologist? An etymologist would know :P

That said love me some bugs. Big moth fan - I'll have to see if I can get feral on here to post her caterpillar pics.

Also!!! Toads. Love toads so much. Will have to go get all my toad pics - there's a ton around here and I try and get them out of the road and home to a garden. Feral has a small toad army in her mint patch.

Lol! That's such a cute joke.

I'm trying to figure out what to title the thread. I think I'd still like the main focus to be on insects because I think they need some better publicity especially with their declines are really scary. Part of what I had in mind here was to sneakily promote insect conservation. At the same time, I'm open for talk of other critters, too!

hello!! I love bugs. they're so interesting and fun! I don't know a whole lot about any specific insects, but I do know quite a bit about terrestrial isopods, jumping spiders (mostly Phidippus species) and tarantulas!! and I'm always looking to learn more :D

I also love plants, but I my knowledge is focused on tropical houseplants and not ones that benefit pollinators. again, super excited to learn, so please infodump at me!!

I'm planning to fill in the second post tomorrow with all sorts of information along with useful links. Want me to ping you when I do?

I'd really like to learn more about terrestrial isopods myself. It's them, jumping spiders, and earwigs that I've been tempted to try to keep as pets eventually. I might start with earwigs though I heard that they can be kept together with isopods.

yea please!! I'd appreciate that ^^

I keep pods rn, and I might be acquiring several P. regius spiderlings sometime soonish from someone on the internet because I helped them hehe.

forgot to add that I'd love to talk more about isopods w u!! probably not tonight tho, I have too much to say and I'm too tired to say it all lol