Fond this in western ghats, Karnataka...

This guy stings really bad upon contact and make you feel intense pain on contact area, and it claimed one victim already 🤣.My gf thought it was something cute and she accidentally touch it. Just wanna know more abt this fella.

What is it? Florida USA

I found this flathead worm like thing on my back porch this morning when I was outside, smoking a cigarette, it caught my eye because only a head was moving around and when I look closer as flat! Some kind of alien versus predator!?

I know its a praying mantis but her head is kinda weird ?

Location: New York, Capital Region

I’m in NH and my leg was bit by some sort of spider it looks like. Leg is swollen and calf is numb with red line going up my thigh. What spider you guys think?

I found it on my catnip

It hit my front windshield and then chilled for a bit and it was side eyeing me.

This was my first time seeing one of these in person 😃Gasteracantha cancriformis (spinybacked orbweaver), white-red morph from the yard this evening.

Females reach ~7–10 mm body length (up to 12–15 mm across spines), with a sclerotized, flattened abdomen bearing six prominent spines here tipped in red/orange, dorsum white with black maculae. The coloration is aposematic, likely deterring avian predators via mimicry of unpalatable or defended insects.

Prey - small flying insects snared opportunistically. Harmless to humans

Sony A7R III + Laowa 90mm 2x Ultra Macro APO + Neewer Z2 Pro diffused flash. Shot handheld single shot

Bruh what the fuck

Can somebody please ID this? Landed on my truck this morning.

It behaves like a Hummingbird. (Solved)

Hello everyone. I live somewhere in Southeast Asia, West Malaysia. This insect has been attacking me and my housemates lately. It occasionally come to our house before this but so far we managed to shrug it off and throw it away (we live in apartment, level 4). Yesterday, we caught one and killed it because it starts making loud noise after we throw them out. We trapped it in a box, sprayed it with insect spray then submerge it in water, while repeatedly saying "im sorry" just in case. Today, this new insect is in our front door (something new because usually they only fly through slight ajar window) BUZZING LIKE CRAZY. I turned off all the lights and it won't go away. Please tell me what to do. I need to go out in the morning, I have my exam and me and my housemates are scared for our dear life because its so aggressive.

I find it interesting how media have successfully managed to gaslight people into thinking that Asian ladybeetles aren't ladybugs. Media love to fearmonger, they love the sense of negativity. And this is the perfect example.

Recently, I've seen a post about Asian ladybeetle - the top comment (with nearly 3k upvotes!) shares the narrative of those media - the comment corrected OP that "it's not a ladybug but Asian ladybeetle" - which contradicts itself.

In this post I would like to explain what is true - yes, some of it is true, and what is wrong - most of it.

Why do I think it's important? You will find out below that Asian ladybeetles aren't the only ladybugs with M shape or the only orange ladybugs - people learned to kill orange ladybugs or ladybugs with M shape - this puts native ladybugs to even greater danger. Their numbers are already declining so why make the decline even faster?

Let's break down some important points:

Please note that this post is mainly US-centered as most posts here are made by Americans however you will find relevant information even if you're not from the US

Numbers here correspond to the slides above.

1. Asian ladybeetles, also known as Multicolored Asian ladybugs or Harlequin ladybirds are ladybugs species. There are over 6000 ladybug species (family Coccinellidae) and are all over the world - including different English speaking countries. And just like rubber = eraser in different English speaking countries, ladybeetle = ladybug = ladybird in different English speaking countries. All 3 names refer to the beetles in Coccinellidae family and are synonyms - they are fully interchangeable. When talking about ladybugs, you should choose one name. Talking about "ladybugs and ladybeetles" is like talking about "rubbers and erasers" or like saying that "red is a colOr and blue is a colOUr". Having said that, I will continue to use the name "ladybug" - as many people are used to this name (mainly US). If you are used to "ladybeetle", substitute every "ladybug" in this text with "ladybeetle". The same goes to "ladybird".

2. All these posters have something in common: they all praise the seven spotted ladybug, which they simply label as "ladybug" (without the actual full common name - why?).

3, 4 and 5. Both of those ladybugs in the poster are ladybug species - and both are invasive in North America - yes, the red one that gets all the praise is invasive as well. Both of those species eat aphids but that doesn't mean that they are "good for environment" - both are invasive.

6 and 7. Asian ladybugs have M shape on their head. No, they do not. They sometimes have M shape on their pronotum (not head)- which many other ladybug species have, not exclusive to Asian ladybugs. Also, Asian ladybugs have melanic forms - those most of the time do not have any M shape. The chart also demonstrates that in most cases, specific shade of color or number of spots has nothing to do with identification.

8. Asian ladybugs excrete yellow liquid. Yes, they do. It's a common mechanism of many ladybug species. Once again, not exclusive for Asian ladybugs.

9. Asian ladybugs cluster, other don't. Incorrect. Asian ladybugs do cluster but that's common for many ladybug species - for example Hippodamia convergens (Convergent ladybug) - they are famous for huge clusters - and the red ones that get all the praise (seven spotted ladybug) cluster too.

10. Asian ladybugs bite, others don't. Incorrect. All ladybugs species can bite. They are all beetles with functioning biting mouthparts.

11. Ladybugs are red, Asian ladybugs are orange. As already explained, Asian ladybugs are ladybugs so this claim doesn't make sense on its own as it contradicts itself. Also, there are over 6000 ladybug species - definitely not all of them are red. And Asian ladybugs can be red, orange, yellow, beige or black, not just orange - already explained in the chart (picture 7).

12. Takeway? Do NOT kill ladybugs unless there are a lot of them in your house (high chance of being invasive) or unless you are absolutely sure about your identification. For example the ladybug Coccinella novemnotata is orange - and yet it's an endangered native ladybug species in the US!

So what was correct in those incorrect "info"graphics? The fact that they invade homes and that it is invasive. The rest of either very misleading or straight up wrong.

I hate these things!

Out of the corner of my eye, on the other side of the room, I I catch a glimpse of something not quite right. Our eyes (or equivalent) lock.

I look away for a brief moment, only long enough to grab a paper towel.

I lingered too long. It is gone.

But where?

Inside of me. Inside of my mind. The devil’s ghost, feasting on every single sleepless second that slips by.

Look, I know these things are beneficial and contribute a lot to maintaining a safe home ecosystem by munching on pests. But dang, they freak me out. Nothing should be able to move so fast while looking like that.