Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)

I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.

If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n

#Bugs #CoolBugFacts #Insects

Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)

I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.

If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n

#Bugs #CoolBugFacts #Insects

@annehargreaves @jetlagjen @ShaulaEvans there are so many names for pill bugs in the English-speaking world (cannot speak to other languages on this)

Monkeypeas was the one where I grew up (SE England)

They also come in orangey/ginger variants!

@afewbugs
Aphids are born pregnant. They are some of the most rapidly multiplying animals. If lady bugs (their primary predator) were to go extinct, we'd be up to our literal asses in aphids in a few months.

Also aphids are one of the only animals to have been domesticated by non-human animals, as far as we know. Leaf-cutter ants raise them for food. They don't eat them, but lick their butts, where they secrete a sugary nectar.
@ShaulaEvans

Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)

I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.

If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n

#Bugs #CoolBugFacts #Insects

@afewbugs @ShaulaEvans @Mux hot

@sillyCoelophysis
You wish you secreted a sugary nectar out your ass.
@afewbugs @ShaulaEvans

@sillyCoelophysis
You wish you secreted a sugary nectar out your ass.
@afewbugs @ShaulaEvans

Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)

I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.

If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n

#Bugs #CoolBugFacts #Insects

Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)

I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.

If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n

#Bugs #CoolBugFacts #Insects

@ShaulaEvans
Honey bees have been observed to engage in play behavior. When left with little plastic balls they enjoy rolling them around from place to place.

@ShaulaEvans Honey bee larvae grow in closed cells in the hive, and because they don't want to get that dirty by pooping all over it they have no anuses. After metamorphosis into their adult form they fly out of the hive, see the sun and the world for the first time and respond by taking a massive dump

Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)

I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.

If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n

#Bugs #CoolBugFacts #Insects

@afewbugs @ShaulaEvans @Mux um...

Second profile quote!

@ShaulaEvans Male bees (and wasps, and ants) are _haploid_ and do not have fathers. They are not just the only animals, but the only _eukaryotes_ to evolve reproduction that differs from the normal alternation of haploid/diploid generations. (Reproduction is usually very strongly evolutionarily conserved, for obvious reasons: if a mutation messes it up somehow, there's no chance for it to get sorted out again in future generations, because there won't _be_ any future generations.) So euphemising sex ed as "the birds and the bees" is unhelpful, as "the bees" are literally _the_ worst available model organism for human reproduction.

@ShaulaEvans Probably already knows about this, but it's always good for chuckle:
The Tarantula Hawk is neither a tarantula, nor a hawk. It's a wasp. It's the only wasp who's venom does no tissue damage. It's attacks the nervous system and paralyzes it's prey: the tarantula. The venom's action is so specific that it does not kill the spider, but renders it helpless. The wasp drags the spider to a prepared nest where she lays eggs inside the spiders body. When the the eggs hatch, the larvae use the living spider for food, being careful to avoid vital organs, keeping the spider alive as long as possible.

The sting is harmless to humans, although it's known as the most painful sting of any insect. According Matt Simon, of Absurd Creature of the Week: "There are some vivid descriptions of people getting stung by these things,” says invertebrate biologist Ben Hutchins of Texas Parks and Wildlife, “and their recommendation was to just lie down and start screaming, because few if any people could maintain verbal and physical coordination after getting stung by one of these things. You're likely to just run off and hurt yourself. So just lie down and start yelling."

Oh, and these lovely ladies are big!

Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)

I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.

If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n

#Bugs #CoolBugFacts #Insects

Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)

I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.

If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n

#Bugs #CoolBugFacts #Insects

@AnAutieAtUni @ShaulaEvans As it happens, I was pointing to a tiny, delicate green-and-white jumping spider (most likely Epeus sp.) on a wooden railing just a few hours ago, and before I finished saying "look at this spider", it had hopped up on my finger, cool as you like. And after several seconds, I tapped lightly on the railing, and it hopped off again. Lovely.

Hey, Fedi. Help me help a friend. (Not financial!)

I have a friend who is all about cool bug facts. They're going through an intense patch in their life, so I would like to send them some bug facts to cheer them up. But this is really their thing, so basic search engine results aren't going to new to them.

If there's a cool bug fact that you genuinely love, could you tell me? I'll save them to share with my friend over time. 1/n

#Bugs #CoolBugFacts #Insects