I Am Starting To Understand How People Get Into The Science Of Biology, Because If You Have A Lil Bug

I am starting to understand how people get into the science of biology, because if you have a lil bug or something you like, and you start looking for more information about it, sometimes you end up with a grand total of maybe five sources before everything gets repeated. Because as it turns out there's a shit ton of invertebrates and even the relatively common ones aren't always researched in much detail. So you eventually end up with a room full of bug habitats trying to get real data on mating behavior and then you're like oh shit I'm the preeminent expert, now who do I ask.

something that I delight in (now that I regularly use inaturalist) is coming across flora and fauna that have no common names.

there's a thrill in discovering an overlooked or understudied organism. the world is so big and there is so much that we know so little about, even things that are in our backyard. you don't need to go somewhere exotic or to the bottom of the ocean to find creatures that are unfamiliar to the general public.

please say hello to Coccobaphes frontifer, spotted on a picnic table in Peoria, IL on 5/18/2024 :)

Looks like Amata divisa :)

Behold, the majestic wasp-mimicking moth. It’s a native species but I have no idea which one it is. Something something in Asia.

Back in first grade, the kids would say that you get to make a wish/something good happens when you see one. That or they mistake it for a bee or wasp or something lol

Hi dogy

(Alypia octomaculata)

Someone in my english group shared this picture, and I was able to identify this little guy. The Gonodonta pyrgo is a species of fruit-piercing moth in the family Erebidae first described by Pieter Cramer in 1777. It is found in North America. Isn't it cool?