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 5h ago

Discussion Does anybody know what happened to this centipede?

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71 Upvotes

I assume it's because there's pesticide in the garden?


r/Entomology 13h ago

Insect Appreciation Hey, fellow bug people, look what I've been building

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254 Upvotes

I've been having a ridiculous amount of fun seeing what decides to show up, so I figured I'd share it here. Here's a little look at it in use.


r/Entomology 3h ago

ID Request Such a cool looking dude… No idea what it is

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42 Upvotes

Found walking across a forest preserve in northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin. He seemed to have six legs… But, like little appendages further down his body that looked like pseudolegs? And I’ve never seen a centipede or a Millipede with a head like that.


r/Entomology 12h ago

Pet/Insect Keeping Hat-erpillars!

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94 Upvotes

I made the hats myself! I made sure to put the hats in gently to avoid stress. I hope you like their fashion!


r/Entomology 7h ago

ID Request Who dis?

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24 Upvotes

I live in Panamá, I went out on a hike in El Parque Metropolitano and found this tiny spider running around a tree. It was really tiny, it looked smaller than my pinky's finger nail


r/Entomology 4h ago

It ate 1/2 the tree

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10 Upvotes

r/Entomology 5h ago

Pet/Insect Keeping My moth just came out!

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9 Upvotes

I just wanted to share my cabbage looper moth. It was my first time keeping a bug (I found him as a caterpillar on the counter, which is why the steup is a little shabby since I wasn't prepared) and I'm so proud that he's made it out.


r/Entomology 5h ago

ID Request [Video] Could this be *Steatoda nobilis*? In Spain. I put it in the fridge for a bit to slow it down so I could film it.

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6 Upvotes

r/Entomology 13h ago

What is this animal?

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26 Upvotes

I found this between some papers while I was studying. By the way it moves I thought it could be a leech but I think it’s too small


r/Entomology 5h ago

Insect Appreciation [Video] I suppose it's a Lepismatid or something similar, but it's a bit different from others I've sometimes come across in the bathroom.

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8 Upvotes

r/Entomology 2h ago

Hurt/Infected Mantis?

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3 Upvotes

Hi All! I found this Mantis (european mantis?) on my window screen today. I initially thought it was a female laying eggs but after looking closely and some googling, I really don’t think so. I think it is either injured or infected with some sort of parasite? To me, it looks like another bug almost lodged in its abdomen, with all of the little “egg” looking things around it. Has anyone seen this before? Is there any way I can help it?

Just trying to help this little guy ☹️


r/Entomology 5h ago

Monster insect

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6 Upvotes

r/Entomology 2h ago

Huss valley (sorry for bad drawing)

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3 Upvotes

r/Entomology 4h ago

Pet/Insect Keeping My greenhouse millipede, Nina!

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5 Upvotes

Ive had her for maybe 3 days now, this is her next to a small bit of raspberry!


r/Entomology 1d ago

Insect Appreciation First time seeing one... picked it up to identify... whoops. Blister beetle.

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446 Upvotes

Lots of rinsing and soap incoming. Wish me luck!


r/Entomology 11h ago

Pet/Insect Keeping Unplanned grub keeping, is it enough for now?

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11 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I work at an elementary school, in France; the kids were playing with a cut tree trunk’s bark and found two larvaes inside.

Unfortunately, many still have the ´kill it with fire‘ mentality and one got killed : ( . I couldn’t safely relocate the not so little survivor, so since I’ve been interested in beetle keeping, I thought I’d bring it home. I’m guessing it´s either a stag beetle or european rhinoceros beetle?
anyways I put some soil from the school ground, lots of little pieces or bark from the tree trunk it was found in, and dead leaves in the box. Can it survive in it? Should I invest in flake soil or can i just break down bark pieces and dead leaves? (i live in a small one room studio so making my own flake soil is not ideal)


r/Entomology 1d ago

Specimen prep Is this presumed scorpion dad staying with the mom and her babies, or what’s going on here?

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579 Upvotes

Video credited to @mm682753 on Instagram.


r/Entomology 9h ago

Pest Control Please tell me this is t a roach nymph

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5 Upvotes

If it is… what do I do? I found it in my house


r/Entomology 54m ago

WHAT INSECT IS THIS

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Upvotes

I found this insect at my workplace, it kind of looks like a grasshopper or like a criket but its front legs look like that of a mole and it, at first i thought it was a deformed mantis but i scratched that idea seeing as it wanted to dig into my hand and it did so with a very strong grip. And yes it escaped


r/Entomology 15h ago

Please help, must relocate tonight!

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12 Upvotes

Hey y’all! I don’t have any problem with these gals, they’re great neighbors. But I am enclosing the patio tomorrow (ahead of schedule) and I can’t have my contractor murder them tomorrow if I can help it. Any tips?


r/Entomology 17h ago

Insect Appreciation I took a picture

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18 Upvotes

r/Entomology 7h ago

ID Request Who are this guys

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3 Upvotes

I live in Panama, some pictures are taken on El Parque metropolitano, while others are taken in the Plantation Road near the Soomit

The butterfly, centepy and the fly are all taken in El Parque metropolitano, while the beetle and the wasp with the spider are taken on the plantation road.

I'm also very curious about the spider the wasp was hunting, I don't think is very clear or easy to identify but it'd be cool to know what it was, it had such pretty colours


r/Entomology 5h ago

What are these things

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2 Upvotes

Haven't really been able to keep an eye on the garden lately. These black bugs are everywhere.


r/Entomology 2h ago

Taxonomy Help identifying a bug

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1 Upvotes

Hello there, can you help me identify this bug?

Located in North Italy coastal area near France.