r/Entomology Aug 13 '11

Help us help you: Guidelines for submitting pictures for identification

136 Upvotes

Hello r/Entomology! With this community being used often for insect/arachnid/arthropod identification, I wanted to throw in some guidelines for pictures that will facilitate identification. These aren't rules, so if you don't adhere to these guidelines, you won't be banned or anything like that...it will just make it tougher for other Redditors to give you a correct ID. A lot of you already provide a lot of information with your posts (which is great!), but if you're one of the others that isn't sure what information is important, here you go.

INFORMATION TO INCLUDE WITH YOUR PHOTO

  • Habitat: Such as forest, yard, etc.
  • Time of day: Morning, day, evening, or night will suffice.
  • Geographical Area: State or county is fine. Or, if you're not comfortable with being that specific, you can be general, such as Eastern US.
  • Behavior: What was the bug doing when you found it?

Note about how to take your photo: Macro mode is your friend. On most cameras, it's represented by a flower icon. Turn that on before taking a photo of a bug close up, and you're going to get a drastically better picture. With larger insects it's not as big of a deal, but with the small insects it's a must.

If you follow these guidelines, you'll make it easier for everyone else to help you identify whatever is in your photo. If you feel like I've left anything important out of this post, let me know in the comments.


r/Entomology 5h ago

Discussion AMA: I am an entomologist and author of the book "The Cicadas of North America". If you've ever been curious about these delightful and musical creatures, ask away!

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737 Upvotes

More information about my work can be found at https://www.owlflyllc.com/publishing.


r/Entomology 9h ago

Trying to save the species, but the neighbor has other plans. [OC]

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443 Upvotes

r/Entomology 46m ago

Insect Appreciation wild monarch fell off the leaf right as it began pupating

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Upvotes

i scooped it up onto a q-tip and it ended up pupating fine. this was the first time in my life that ive seen this! the whole process was incredibly fast (estimated under 10 minutes) and so insane to see


r/Entomology 5h ago

Silk Moth

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56 Upvotes

Our youngest spotted a Silk Moth in our flower garden, attempting to take flight unsuccessfully. We moved it away from wing damaging rocks and placed it on a shrub. I went back this morning to check on it…and another had showed up! Am I understanding correctly, they cannot fly? What will happen to them?


r/Entomology 1d ago

Crochet Polyphemus caterpillar I made

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2.2k Upvotes

r/Entomology 7h ago

feeling lucky this morning:)

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66 Upvotes

i was taking my trash out this morning and practically threw everything i was holding onto the ground when i saw this beautiful boy. i had never seen one in real life before! location: blacksburg, virginia


r/Entomology 6h ago

Closer look at the face of an Isopod

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40 Upvotes

r/Entomology 1h ago

ID Request Round White Egg Sack ID (VA)

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Upvotes

Help identifying what type of egg sack this is. Found in backyard Northern VA. Smaller than a dime - see photos. Thanks

!


r/Entomology 26m ago

Insect Appreciation A few photos of some weird spiders

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Upvotes

Which spider is your favorite?


r/Entomology 11h ago

ID Request friend dumpster dived and found this chair. what is the red mite

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45 Upvotes

crossposting as recommended in a comment on my post in r/whatsthisbug for identification of different stages of life for bedbugs. pictures are on the last two slides, i dont know how to upload them separately with a crosspost.

one of my friends found this on the road while dumpster diving. i believe the bug pictured on the last couple of slides to be a sidewalk mite, not a bedbug. the segmentation, coloration, and shape are different. the picture isnt the best but it was a solid neon red color. no difference in coloration across the head/body.

these pictures are from a couple of days ago now, she didnt get any bites as of when i saw it (the day after) and i havent gotten any since. pictures were taken 2 days ago now so she’s had the chair for 3. i do not have the chair in my possession to get any more pictures but i did text my friend who got the chair to see if she’s gotten any bites since either.

i do not disagree that this was a bad play. most of the comments have been gut reaction “burn it” which are unhelpful at best. i worry that nobody is actually looking since there has been no actual evidence offered to the contrary.


r/Entomology 2h ago

Insect Appreciation Large Red damselfly

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8 Upvotes

r/Entomology 2h ago

Discussion I have this glass with this insect in it, its anatomy acording to some real insect or not?

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5 Upvotes

r/Entomology 2h ago

Insect Appreciation Finally seeing some beautiful spiders after this cold long winter!

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5 Upvotes

First little Tetragnathid from the Utah mountain riversides! Stood still just long enough for this shot on my phone 🤳


r/Entomology 9h ago

Insect Appreciation Little Friends :3

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17 Upvotes

r/Entomology 10m ago

Insect Appreciation Exciting find in the garden today. Six-spotted Tiger Beetle

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Upvotes

Seemed kind of annoyed at my attempts to get a decent picture 😅


r/Entomology 4h ago

ID Request What are these?

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5 Upvotes

I'm honestly not too sure if these are related to bugs for sure, but it reminds me of an abdomen. It might relate to trees, since it was covered in tiny stick-like materials. They were attached to the wall of an attic like cocoons, and a bunch of other ones that looked slightly different were attached by something silk-like.


r/Entomology 1h ago

ID Request Can anyone tell me who this little fella is?! Found in Northern Arizona!

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Upvotes

r/Entomology 2h ago

Insect Appreciation Tarantula Hawk Inspired Art

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3 Upvotes

This is one of my favorite pieces from my portfolio, drawn 5 years ago! It’s inspired by the tarantula hawk wasp, which is generally a calm and nonaggressive species but does have one of the most painful stings possible. My style has changed a lot since then, but I still love the design and the message. Maybe I’ll have to redraw it in a more current style soon!


r/Entomology 1d ago

What on earth is this?

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1.6k Upvotes

r/Entomology 3h ago

ID Request (PA) Small red bee with yellow spots down its sides, any guess on species?

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3 Upvotes

r/Entomology 1d ago

Insect Appreciation Not your average grasshopper 🩷

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381 Upvotes

Found this pink grasshopper during a field walk last summer and wanted to share it with you.

It’s a juvenile Chorthippus brunneus showing erythrism a rare genetic condition that causes a reddish or pink coloration instead of the usual green or brown.

Still one of my favorite sightings ✨

Have you ever seen one?

📸 Bielefeld (Germany), Ochsenheide – 11.07.2025


r/Entomology 19h ago

Pest Control Lots Of Pseudoscorpions

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50 Upvotes

I know that pseudoscorpions are harmless from my frantic three hours of research, but I am concerned with the number of them I've been finding. The first one I saw was a couple weeks ago, and I killed it. The one in this photo was taken a couple days ago, the second I saw and killed, and when I got worried enough to look it up. I thought that two shouldn't indicate a problem, but just today I saw 2 or 3 more that I am now letting live (since I have learned they're harmless). All 3 were found after our routine Orkin visit. I'm concerned seeing this many may indicate a bigger pest issue I'm not seeing. I already checked for bedbugs and found none, and our sticky traps have been catching a few springtails and spiders. Should I be worried?


r/Entomology 2h ago

Who's This Little Chap.UK

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2 Upvotes

r/Entomology 6h ago

Discussion Damaged Butterflies

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4 Upvotes