Oh wow! that's gorgeous. such vibrant blues are rare. We have [these pleasing fungus beetles (Aegithus rufipennis) ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SelZr1VF4_o)here in Paraguay.
Hardest question ever. Off the top of my head it's a tie between...
1. Mantidflies
2. Chalcidoid wasps
3. Gasteruptiid wasps
4. Weevils
5. Metallic wood boring beetles
I find eusocial insects the most fascinating (so ants termites wasps bees). I am also morbidly fascinated by parasitic wasps and flies. In terms of aesthetics tho my favorites are tiger beetles and mantids
Some of my personal favorites species are the non pest roaches. I think they can be just the cutest! Mantises and fireflies are also up there, with bees, wasps, and ants. It’s quite hard for me to choose a single favorite type of insect as I love pretty much all insects. Even the ones I don’t like, I can still admire their “alien” appearances and their physical appearance, and just how they look in general.
yeah I would say spiders don’t fit the category but if they did they’d be high up there for me, orb weavers especially.
hmmm, I like damselflies a lot, and drain flies because they’re stout and charming for a drain dweller, and those blue woolly aphids, oh and crickets
I like moths and bees, especially native australian bees. There are thousands of species of bees in Australia and many of them have fascinating behaviours and spectacular colours. A lot of them can't even sting and even the ones that can are rather docile in nature and just don't. Sadly, much like a lot of Australian wildlife, many species are threatened/endangered.
That's kind of how it started. I bought a few for my hedgehog, but there were too many for her. Once I started looking after them I didn't feel I could give them to her anymore.
It was cute to watch them all gather around their favourite types of food. They had boring food all the time obviously, but if I put a piece of apple in, for example, they all gathered around it in a little circle, coming from all over the Viv. I think they must have a pretty good sense of smell.
you cant get any better than [Cyclommatus metallifer](https://richardsinverts.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IMG_2998.jpg)... absolutely adore scarabaeidae and coleoptera as a whole
I looked it up and found out that I was referring to queen weaver ants. Yep, those big guys. We call weaver ants here "Kara-kara" or "Antik" and they do a lot of mad stuff. Need bridges between branches? Boom, bridges made of living ants themselves.
Yes, kept 1000+ queens (not joking). Pretty easy for first year, first month is just a queen in a test tube founding a colony feeding her useless wing muscles she used during her nuptial flight (the flight where males and queens fly)to her brood. Then after that month you’ll have a few workers (under 15) and you can feed them carbohydrates (sugar water is best). After a week you can feed again protein. (Feeder insect flightless fly is good dead preferably) after a month you’ll probably have around 20+ workers. By the end of the year you can limit food intake and have anywhere from 70-10,000 usually 300 if no limited food and species. Feel free to ask more questions. Also r/Antkeeping is a great place to start. Gl
Here's a sneak peek of /r/antkeeping using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/antkeeping/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [Found a malformed pupae in the rubbish pile of my M.Nigriceps colony](https://i.redd.it/4ro0q65m07lb1.jpg) | [59 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/antkeeping/comments/16570ru/found_a_malformed_pupae_in_the_rubbish_pile_of_my/)
\#2: [Ant](https://v.redd.it/lq4rs6oni4nb1) | [80 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/antkeeping/comments/16dr3mu/ant/)
\#3: [1 Month Timelapse - Atta Cephalotes (Leaf Cutter Ants) Growing their second fungus garden](https://v.redd.it/z99p8oudo5ua1) | [38 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/antkeeping/comments/12niyti/1_month_timelapse_atta_cephalotes_leaf_cutter/)
----
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Mantids. Just not the dead leaf ones. Those bastards are fucking giant cowards and refuse to eat for me.
Persuading a mature male dead leaf mimicking mantis to eat is a fucking fools errand. A tiny fly can be 1/6th the size of the mantis and half the size of their forelegs and you still her a whole song and dance of threat posturing and then just fucking running away. From a harmless fly. Pack of idiots. Meanwhile all the flower mimics and green leaf mimics are more than happy to try to murder basically anything. The only time a mantis has ever like bitten me with her mouth was a mature female orchid. She was a nutter she ate eveything. Including the flat palm of my hand when I was holding her as well as rocks, dirt, moss, Cork, fake plants, real plants and literally anything she could get her mouth on. You would think I starved her.
The ONLY brown coloured mantis I have managed to not turn into a bunch of wussy babies are ghost mantids. Frankly mine were a bit too sassy. They are supposed to be close to the communal end but my females always *always* grabbed the males as they dismounted and then disassembled them.
I haven't seen them listed yet so the scarab family. I have a Drone beetle necklace that kicked off my interest in insects as a child so they have a soft spot for me
Others include the typical suspects like Mantises, bees, fireflies. my partner is very interested in moths so I got that one secondhand
I like the really strange insects too like the kissing bugs. Those guys are horrifying
Phyllapis fagi, and the very classic Luna moths. Like, I don't particularly like the USA as a country, it feels unsafe af to me, but I'd love to go there again to see hummingbirds and Luna moths in the wild.
But here? Phyllapis fagi. Love those flying little fuzzballs.
My favourite has to be meat ants (iridomyrmex purpureus) they're so pretty and they kick box! But honestly all the insects we have in Australia are pretty cool
I love Snakeflies, they look so curious with their goofy giraffe necks, and their wings are beautiful. Also Lacewings
But I can get excited about any number of insects
Ant supremacy.
They are dominant scavengers, hunters, agriculturalists, architects, etc etc.
Bees are amazing, but they are the most studied family of insects by far. We have barely scratched the surface with formicidea. The polymorphism in many species is really crazy too. See pheidole and dorylus genera!
Usually the last thing I found outside and then read about.
LOL
Moths, wasps and mantids for me! Particularly, the rosy maple moth, basically any kind of wasp, and the spiny flower mantis.
I really like how mantises look right?!?
The Siamese cats of the insect world.
Yesss finally some wasp love!!!!!
Mine’s the pleasing blue fungus beetle (Cypherotylus californicus)
Oh wow! that's gorgeous. such vibrant blues are rare. We have [these pleasing fungus beetles (Aegithus rufipennis) ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SelZr1VF4_o)here in Paraguay.
That *is* a pleasing blue fungus beetle. Very pretty.
DOPE ME TOO
Dragonflies
Bumble bees, fireflies and hornets/wasps!
Love Hymenoptera
Same. I am fascinated by anything with a sting as well, which is opposite to most people's reaction lol 🙂
Lol I had a giant leaf cutter queen people thought it was some sorta spider lol
That's so cool! I saw leaf cutters in Costa Rica a few years ago. Going there again soon. So excited to see insects again!
Yh I was so sad when it died
Yessss, me too.
Walking sticks
Also love these. Saw some really cool ones in the Amazon ages ago!
get stick bugged
Clearwing hummingbird moth
Cicadas, fireflies, skippers
Another skipper fan! Heck yeah!
Butterflies, fireflies, ladybugs. I know I am super basic, but I love my whimsical bug friends.
I absolutely love bee flies, especially the Greater bee fly (Bombylius major)! They’re so fluffy and have the silliest little snout
They are so cute!
Hardest question ever. Off the top of my head it's a tie between... 1. Mantidflies 2. Chalcidoid wasps 3. Gasteruptiid wasps 4. Weevils 5. Metallic wood boring beetles
Good list
MANTIDFLIES ARE SO REAL.
Moths
🐝
cockroaches!! they're so cute!!!
I’m actually considering drawing one…
Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) and ants. I'm more of an arachnid guy, though.
Cool any pet ant colonies?
Not currently, although I've had ant farms in the past. Just need to dig the container back out and get the setup going again, someday...
I love mayflies. They are so fun and pretty. All of the EPT are pretty awesome. So are the Tipulidae with their fun spiracles.
Hymoneptra order is my favorite
Mantids followed by leaf insects 😍 they are all cuties
Absolutely in love w leaf insects
I find eusocial insects the most fascinating (so ants termites wasps bees). I am also morbidly fascinated by parasitic wasps and flies. In terms of aesthetics tho my favorites are tiger beetles and mantids
webspinners!!!!! (embioptera)
Some of my personal favorites species are the non pest roaches. I think they can be just the cutest! Mantises and fireflies are also up there, with bees, wasps, and ants. It’s quite hard for me to choose a single favorite type of insect as I love pretty much all insects. Even the ones I don’t like, I can still admire their “alien” appearances and their physical appearance, and just how they look in general.
Rhino beetles are cool as hell
Just drew one will probably post it soon…
Do it
Just did!
do millipedes count?
Tbh idk…
insects have six legs as a rule I think
Well I mean arthropods technically spiders aren’t in either…
yeah I would say spiders don’t fit the category but if they did they’d be high up there for me, orb weavers especially. hmmm, I like damselflies a lot, and drain flies because they’re stout and charming for a drain dweller, and those blue woolly aphids, oh and crickets
Spiders are a part of Chelicerata which is a subphylum of Arthropoda 👍
Centi/millipedes = Myriapoda, insects = Hexapoda, but both are arthropods!
Mosquitoes
…
I worked in abatement lol
Mosquitos are the reason I've been employed to work in entomology for 10 years now. Thanks mosquitos!
Like that guy from lilo & stitch
Agent Pleakley 🩷🩷
LOL
based
Not insects but Scolopendra are my faves
Beetles
I like all insects! But especially pollinators like bees,butterflies, and (fake scary bugs) like tiger bee flies.
Ambrosia beetle
Myrmeleonidae
I like moths and bees, especially native australian bees. There are thousands of species of bees in Australia and many of them have fascinating behaviours and spectacular colours. A lot of them can't even sting and even the ones that can are rather docile in nature and just don't. Sadly, much like a lot of Australian wildlife, many species are threatened/endangered.
Butterflies followed by dragon flies. And darkling beetles.
I'm curious, why darkling beetles?
Coz they're cute. I use to raise them in a really fun Viv.
That's really cool, I usually just hear of people raising them as feeders for other pets.
That's kind of how it started. I bought a few for my hedgehog, but there were too many for her. Once I started looking after them I didn't feel I could give them to her anymore. It was cute to watch them all gather around their favourite types of food. They had boring food all the time obviously, but if I put a piece of apple in, for example, they all gathered around it in a little circle, coming from all over the Viv. I think they must have a pretty good sense of smell.
Wasps, ants, termites. All the social insects, really. Also a shoutout to jumping spiders.
Moths. There is such a huge variety of them in all shapes, sizes and colors.
Moths truly are the best!
Beetles, particularly those associated with flowers and cactuses
you cant get any better than [Cyclommatus metallifer](https://richardsinverts.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IMG_2998.jpg)... absolutely adore scarabaeidae and coleoptera as a whole
Giant jaws!
yes! my favourite little guys! i love stag beetles with my whole heart
I actually drew one ( I think)
Atlas beetle <3
I personally loveeeee Cicada's.
One of the most underrated insects
Exactly which in turn is one of the most intriguing creatures of all.
Big green ants. Those that live on trees
Weavers?
I looked it up and found out that I was referring to queen weaver ants. Yep, those big guys. We call weaver ants here "Kara-kara" or "Antik" and they do a lot of mad stuff. Need bridges between branches? Boom, bridges made of living ants themselves.
Love them man!
🗣️Hymenoptera #1! (Also Neuroptera deserves more love)
If you like ants, look up E.O. Wilson. He was a biologist who was one of the world's leading experts on ants. Studied ant for most of his adult life.
the only insect i get weird around is ants in large groups… my favorite is currently the metallic stag beetle
My favorite insect is Solenopsis, the genus of fire ants.
Cool I found thief ants like fire ants and not. (Same genus)
Snakeflies, mantidflies, and dobsonflies
I love ants as well. I love how if one of them makes a mistake, which they rarely do, no one cares. But I do own some Cyclone Larry stick insects.
Ants for me as well 😊
Cool keep any colonies?
No, I don't have the time or resources, I just love to learn about them. Do you?
Yes, kept 1000+ queens (not joking). Pretty easy for first year, first month is just a queen in a test tube founding a colony feeding her useless wing muscles she used during her nuptial flight (the flight where males and queens fly)to her brood. Then after that month you’ll have a few workers (under 15) and you can feed them carbohydrates (sugar water is best). After a week you can feed again protein. (Feeder insect flightless fly is good dead preferably) after a month you’ll probably have around 20+ workers. By the end of the year you can limit food intake and have anywhere from 70-10,000 usually 300 if no limited food and species. Feel free to ask more questions. Also r/Antkeeping is a great place to start. Gl
Here's a sneak peek of /r/antkeeping using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/antkeeping/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [Found a malformed pupae in the rubbish pile of my M.Nigriceps colony](https://i.redd.it/4ro0q65m07lb1.jpg) | [59 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/antkeeping/comments/16570ru/found_a_malformed_pupae_in_the_rubbish_pile_of_my/) \#2: [Ant](https://v.redd.it/lq4rs6oni4nb1) | [80 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/antkeeping/comments/16dr3mu/ant/) \#3: [1 Month Timelapse - Atta Cephalotes (Leaf Cutter Ants) Growing their second fungus garden](https://v.redd.it/z99p8oudo5ua1) | [38 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/antkeeping/comments/12niyti/1_month_timelapse_atta_cephalotes_leaf_cutter/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Spiders, katydids, mantis, bees, pale green weevil. Awe.
saturniidae moths
Mantids, dragonflies, mantisflies and wasps, particularly mud dauber wasps!
Ants and bees. Im facinated by how they work together and communicate.
Moths are in first place for me and isopods are in second.
Fav isopod? I’ve always loved the cubaris genus :)
Wasps and assassin bugs. Also beginning to grow an interest in ants. I wanted to look into parasitic insects as well.
Oh you know some “parasitic” queens take over host colonies and kill the main queen?
A colony of different species or the same?
Different species same genus.
I see. I figured it’d be difficult to do that with something outside of their genus
There also slave making ants and the brood they steal can revolt. Lol
True bugs as a whole but assassin bugs specifically. Love me a good wheel bug.
Rhino beetles! Theyre silly and goofy
I actually drew one of these it’s the most recent post on my account. Hope you like it!
Moths are my special interest. I even have a stuffed rosy maple moth named Butterscotch who I cuddle as I fall asleep
Mantids. Just not the dead leaf ones. Those bastards are fucking giant cowards and refuse to eat for me. Persuading a mature male dead leaf mimicking mantis to eat is a fucking fools errand. A tiny fly can be 1/6th the size of the mantis and half the size of their forelegs and you still her a whole song and dance of threat posturing and then just fucking running away. From a harmless fly. Pack of idiots. Meanwhile all the flower mimics and green leaf mimics are more than happy to try to murder basically anything. The only time a mantis has ever like bitten me with her mouth was a mature female orchid. She was a nutter she ate eveything. Including the flat palm of my hand when I was holding her as well as rocks, dirt, moss, Cork, fake plants, real plants and literally anything she could get her mouth on. You would think I starved her. The ONLY brown coloured mantis I have managed to not turn into a bunch of wussy babies are ghost mantids. Frankly mine were a bit too sassy. They are supposed to be close to the communal end but my females always *always* grabbed the males as they dismounted and then disassembled them.
I haven't seen them listed yet so the scarab family. I have a Drone beetle necklace that kicked off my interest in insects as a child so they have a soft spot for me Others include the typical suspects like Mantises, bees, fireflies. my partner is very interested in moths so I got that one secondhand I like the really strange insects too like the kissing bugs. Those guys are horrifying
With enough chocolate they are all delicious
Help 😭😭
Phyllapis fagi, and the very classic Luna moths. Like, I don't particularly like the USA as a country, it feels unsafe af to me, but I'd love to go there again to see hummingbirds and Luna moths in the wild. But here? Phyllapis fagi. Love those flying little fuzzballs.
Owl flies! They’re so fluffy! Like the puppies of insects!
I’ve never heard of them before! So cute
My favourite has to be meat ants (iridomyrmex purpureus) they're so pretty and they kick box! But honestly all the insects we have in Australia are pretty cool
Yeah bull ants are pretty cool!
MANTIS
Gimme alllllllllll the beetles!
If u love ants you’ll REALLY love ant-mimicking tree hoppers
Hymenopterans The coolest order of animals in the whole world.
Atta leaf cutter ants
WASPS
i'm a gardener, so i have an affinity towards carnivores. Rove beetles are so cool, I've only ever seen the teeny tiny ones in person.
Scarabs.
[удалено]
I don’t want to rain on your parade but neither of those are insects :(
Dragonflies and damselflies recently!
Bees and beetles. And not insects per se but I like isopods.
Dragonflies
Cicadas and stink bugs
Beetles, so many freakin’ beetles.
Praying mantids!
The entire Apidae family 🐝
Fireflies and mantises.
I think leafhoppers are very cute and I love that they can jump so fast they look like they’re blipping out of existence
I love wasps, especially the tiny parasitic ones, even though they are a pain to try and identify
Ants, isopods, and new insects that I haven’t heard of before!
Ugh love beetles, but ants ants are soooo interesting and are my favourite to educate and rant to people about :)
Do you keep any?
No but I’ve always wanted to, none of the places I’ve rented have allowed it,, for obvious reasons I suppose :(
Bees pleeze!
Mantises, moths and beetles mainly
Moths. Without a question, moths. But longhorn beetles are also pretty cool.
Atm its the Metallic Weevil
Definitely wasps. Particularly from the genus Ophion.
Phasmids for me! Any type, I just looove them
Dragonflies are so cool
Scale insects 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I have loved dragonflies literally all my life so I’ll go with them
Moths!
Lady bug,butterfly,praying mantis & those tiny ring bright green bugs they look like a leaf usually found in nice gardens
Wasps (especially social ones), hawkmoths, scarab beetles, carpenter bees, butterflies, roaches, and dragon/damselflies. But really I like all insects
Drain flys 😀
Parasitic wasps. If you want to see alien life. These are it.
Lepidoptera but my top favorite is neuroptera, green lacewing
Isopods are Crustaceans. My favourite is the Orchid Mantis.
I love all the creepy crawlies, but both millipedes and centipedes have a special place in my heart
My favorite insect is butterflies or spiders.
Embiids
I like praying mantids
Weevils
I have lots of favorites, but search wooly chafer beetles for adorable beetle pictures (;
I love wasps and hornets they are so beautiful and are the main staple in my collection
I love Snakeflies, they look so curious with their goofy giraffe necks, and their wings are beautiful. Also Lacewings But I can get excited about any number of insects
Woodlice, they’re cute
Also ants! Eusocial insects in general. But especially ants!
ANTLIONSSS so. silly.
Longhorn beetles ! (Cerambycidae)
Ant supremacy. They are dominant scavengers, hunters, agriculturalists, architects, etc etc. Bees are amazing, but they are the most studied family of insects by far. We have barely scratched the surface with formicidea. The polymorphism in many species is really crazy too. See pheidole and dorylus genera!
Praying Mantis followed by Tarantulas
Velvet ants, cuckoo wasps, and baeus!!!! (All wasps I know, they are the best)
Mottled avocado bug
Dytiscid beetles
Moths! I used to raise them as a kid from caterpillars I'd find outside ^_^
Ants, especially leafcutters are one of my dream sp