I have some of the bandai ones and they are really awesome. Buyee is pretty easy to use but there are other shopping srevices that may be better with fees like fromjapan, cdjapan, tenso, etc. I have sometimes found them at anime stores and at antique malls oddly ?

bug toys!

alright, here’s my mini-guide to getting into the world of Weirdly Articulated, almost entirely Japanese bug toys.

some caveats:

1) most of these toys aren’t great for kids. they have a lot of small lose-able, breakable, poke-able parts and can fall apart pretty easily. 2) i’m in the US, so i’m not quite sure how to acquire these things if ebay and Buyee don’t work for you 3) ‘bugs’ for the purpose of this guide (and entire blog tbh) is any invertebrate why would i want fake bugs when i can get real bugs? 1) fake bugs don’t die and can be neglected forever. they will never bite, sting, poop on you, or be stinky (unless you make them stinky) 2) fake bugs can be handled constantly, they will not get stressed out or pick up any germs from you 3) fake bugs can be much larger than real bugs, or be species that would be impossible or unethical to own or breed. they can even be fun made up creatures 4) fake bugs don’t require any kind of tank, substrate or food, and they will not breed uncontrollably (or at all) 5) they cannot escape and become an invasive species 6) buying them doesn’t support shady or unethical ‘breeders’ who just take bugs from the wild (not saying all bug breeders do this, but it’s definitely a problem with certain kinds of bugs)

this is not to discourage any responsible bug-culturing you might want to get into, but for me, as a pretty depressed person without a lot of space, these are all big plusses!

onto the fake bugs

Keep reading

“ Cuckoo bee “ // rewilding suburbia

Thyreus waroonensis in search of amegilla nesting burrows

Music:  Gibran Alcocer - Idea 22

Emarginea percara | embroidery | completed February 2023 | by Hazel Fricke

detail and photo of the back:

A tad late, but here's a motivational micro-moth for today. May we all be appreciated as much as I appreciate this moth's beautiful tuftiness. Which is a lot. 💖🦋

Image is by Patrick Clement on Flickr

Cinnabar moths and their famously toxic caterpillars are the reason I let a small amount of ragwort grow in my back garden every year. It's a prolific self-seeking weed so it needs a bit of, uhhh... Management, to keep it from taking over the place (and infuriating my neighbours - we have side to side and back to back gardens, in classic UK urban rows.) But it's worth it to get 2 generations a year of these striking moths and stripey blorbs!

The caterpillars absorb the toxins in ragwort and wear aposematic bold colours to warn birds that they taste poisonously bad. They're also covered in stinging hairs - never touch them. Truly. N E V E R. I accidentally brushed past one while taking a pic a couple of years ago. The stings felt like nettles but x100 more so, and took weeks to fully disappear.

They pass their toxins on when they metamorphose, so the moth is also toxic with DGAF colouration. They're day-flying too - I guess if you're that toxic, you're not worried about being eaten by daytime birds.

Because they're bivoltine (have 2 generations a year) it's common to see cats and adults at the same time, and different generations of caterpillars on the same plant - as you can see in the 1st 2 pics.

Find more info on cinnabars and their relationship with ragwort here

some hairy springtails munch on pellets. the cookie is bigger than you

(Entomobrya griseoolivata)

Angulate click beetle, Semiotus angulatus, Elateridae

Photographed in Peru by desertnaturalist

Can you identify these caterpillars for me? Pleasey?

These were some pupae around. Though idk if they are theirs.

Happy New Year btw! ❤️

they are queen butterfly (danaus glippus) caterpillars and pupae. The queen is the cousin of the monarch.

Schiaparelli SS23

Epistrophus white morpho butterfly, Morpho epistrophus, Nymphalidae

Found in eastern South America

Photo 1 by ulisesbalza, 2 by jjbonannod, 3 by deboas, 4 by vinicius_s_domingues, 5 by gabrielamsouza, 6 by fredericosonntag, 7 by sitiocandeias, 8 by laura-_-, and 9-10 by calydna

one night i caught this harvestman eating a caterpillar from a little leaf plate

Bilateral gynandromorph Ant (Cataglyphis ?) [x]

(The right side is male, the left queen.)

Microcompassions

Sometimes I draw moths.

@qyuryyus submitted: beautiful male valley carpenter bee came to visit this afternoon

WHAT A MAN. I want you to know I skipped 50 other submissions to post this right away because I love him so much :’)

googoogaga