Category Archives: Taxonomy

What are Gnats? Are Gnats Flies?

Posted on February 10, 2021 by SciBugs

I received this question from my learning community on Facebook called the SciHive! We deep dive into topics and I get some really insightful questions! And I even love these kinds of questions that really show the dichotomy between colloquial … Continue reading →

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What is the Difference Between Dragonflies and Damselflies?

Posted on December 8, 2020 by SciBugs

I get this question in person more than I see it online. So let’s break it down shall we? What are dragonflies and damselflies? How are they similar? How are they different? And take a deeper dive than you might … Continue reading →

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What is an Arachnid?

Posted on February 20, 2018 by JoanieTheEntomologist

One of our most common identification requests are pictures of spiders and other arachnids. Nancy and I did a live video awhile back talking about arachnids. In the video we say that you can type the word “SPIDER” to receive a … Continue reading →

Posted in Identification, Taxonomy | 1 Comment

What’s the Difference Between a Butterfly and a Moth

Posted on August 14, 2017 by SciBugs

Written by Nancy Miorelli We’ve been having a lot of fun and games on our Facebook Page! Literally. Games. Like our new bug quiz series! Which of the lettered insects is a butterfly? So have a quick look a the … Continue reading →

Posted in Taxonomy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Wait…predatory bees?

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Polistes fuscatus

Written by Joe Ballenger Since it’s summer, and bug season is in full swing, we get a lot of neat observations in our inbox. I wanted to highlight one such observation in this week’s post, because it involves one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Identification, Taxonomy | Tagged | 1 Comment

Never growing up: why are there insects which *don’t* go through metamorphosis?

Posted on October 7, 2016 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger If someone begins a statement with ‘this might be a dumb question, but…’ my ears usually perk up, because it’s very likely that something interesting is about to follow. @Stylopidae whoa! this is a dumb question, … Continue reading →

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So You’re In the Tropics, Named a New Species Yet?

Posted on August 19, 2016 by SciBugs

Written by Nancy Miorelli The short answer is “No.” The long answer is “No.” but with with a bit more explanation. The first is that I’m a communicator, an ecologist, and don’t have a lot of the proper equipment. Have … Continue reading →

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A Night in the Museum

Posted on February 18, 2016 by SciBugs

Written by Nancy Miorelli Basically, things showed up in boxes with with various bits of label data. Some of which is incomplete, some of which the specimens aren’t preserved properly, and some of which aren’t stored properly. This all kind of … Continue reading →

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What did these wasps manage to get themselves stuck in?

Posted on September 2, 2015 by joeballenger2005

We get a lot of neat pictures in our inbox, and I think this is one of the cooler images we’ve gotten because there’s a lot going on in this picture. I’m not 100% certain of what the wasps are … Continue reading →

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What’s going on with the bugs at Burning Man?

Posted on August 23, 2015 by joeballenger2005

@SciBugs @BugQuestions burning question for you!! Please help us identify this massive swarm in the Nevada desert. pic.twitter.com/rxkEIga0Ij — Suzanna (@emerald150) August 18, 2015 A couple days ago, we got a tweet about some bugs which were swarming in Nevada. … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, News, Pest Management, Taxonomy | Leave a comment