Why is it that it is near to IMPOSSIBLE to find your email address CLEARLY displayed on your website? Are you guys COMPLETELY DAFT???? Since when is this an email address: Email the bugman AT Whatsthatbug.com ?????????????????????????????? ???????????
Are you truly dorks?
—–ja

Dear Jonathan Ayers (who can be reached at jonathanayres@mac.com),
While the majority of the emails we receive are complimentary, occasionally we do get unsolicited derogatory and inflamatory letters that trouble us deeply. In an effort to confront our demons, we have created the Nasty Reader page and we want to congratulate you on being awarded the fourth installment of the award. Your prize include a high profile posting on our homepage as well as a permanent position in our archives. So that our readership will have no problems locating your email address, we will make sure we link to it several times. You must be suffering from severe performance anxiety as well as personal inadequacy since it is apparent that a large majority of the web browsing public has no problem writing to us by simply clicking the Ask WTB link prominently featured at the top of each and every one of our individual pages. We do receive over 100 emails a day. We strongly suggest you seek some rage management treatment and perhaps our readership has additional suggestions for you. Our readership can email you directly, and hopefully copy us on their letters so we can post their views as well. Have a nice day.

Comment: (08/16/2008) How does it feel to be (in)famous?
Isn’t that what you wanted– to vent unneccessarily at the Bugman and his Mrs? What is wrong with you people? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or are you naturally this nasty? You need a lesson in anger management and good manners, along with giving them an apology. They don’t have to have this wonderful page for us. I check it numerous times a day myself. I love the beautiful pictures that people send in and the commentary every day. Having this website is a wonderful gift to all of us, and you don’t appreciate it. You need to get a grip along with getting a life. Oh, in case you’re that ignorant and can’t find the email address, you’re supposed to click Ask WTB. DUH!
SJ

Another Reader Comment (08/17/2008)
Dear Jonathon
Does your mommy know you’re on the internet? Your email to WTB makes me think you are 8 or 9 years old. Even if you are older, I think you ought to be supervised. Get a clue.
Joanne

Faithful Reader gets nasty with Jonathan (08/17/2008)
Dafty Dork Frustrations
Dear Jonathan,
Being that on a daily basis 100s of us are able to find the means to e-mail “What’s That Bug”, it leads me to the conclusion that it must be you who is the dork and a dafty dork at that!! And … when you apparently did locate the address, instead of feeling pride in your brilliant accomplishment, you didn’t share your insect pics, but instead chose to chastise the wonderful folks who provide this amazing website. This is what I envision occurred… it’s the only explanation for such rage and frustration: You wanted to share your bug pics, but said bug was up your arse. You set up a tripod, positioned your butt, attempted to get your camera in position. The lighting wasn’t quite right, you’re itchy and uncomfortable , what with the bug hopping around in there, just refusing to sit still for a photo. Finally , after 10 minutes or so, poor bug settled down, the lighting adjusted, butt position at perfect angle to camera, you got it! After all that work & discomfort, to not be able to find an e-mail address is certainly justification to spew venom at our Bug Folks friends. I hope your bug has been released and you feel calmer. Although no photos were shared, I thank you for the entertainment. Best wishes,
A very loyal “What’s That Bug” fan

More proof that What’s That Bug? fans are a loyal group!!! (08/17/2008)
Oh Jonathan Ayres…what a hefty mistake you’ve made…
Tsk, tsk. Your email to the Bugman, specifically your overuse of punctuation and lack of manners, points to the fact that you are probably a pre-pubescent boy with little to do other than use mommy’s computer while she’s at work. Clearly she needs to impose more parental controls, and may I suggest for you a class in basic respect. I think they call it boot camp. Perhaps you ought to be practicing your “Yessir”, for if that note is any indication of your ability to control your anger, I see extended jail time in your future. I vote you “Most Likely to End Up in a Tijuana Prison”…and my guess is you have very few friends to bail you out.
M. Doy

Macintosh Representative takes issue with email abuse!!! (08/18/2008)
To jonathanayres@mac.com
Macintosh is one class act! You have displayed you have none! I am Macintosh certified and am embarrassed for Macintosh that such garbage be associated with their name. I will make sure to pass this on to all the nice wonderful people at Macintosh and see if we can’t disassociate you from their name. Hope you have fun with that!
Frank

Attitude Adjustment Needed
Dear ja, You asked the great folks at What’s That Bug if they were “dorks”….how insipid!! You must be less than a dork if your found it difficult to send them an email. I have always considered myself a dork when it comes to computer tech stuff but even with my limited PC abilities, I had no trouble writing to them. Your mamma must certainly be proud of your rudeness and bad attitude. My mamma knew how to do an instant attitude adjustment. Too bad your mamma didn’t have the same knowledge!! Don’t know how old you are but you better remember one thing, always be nice to those who know more than you do!! Cordially,
A bug wit…..

Comment: (08/31/2008) Nasty Reader Awards
I love your site, it’s very interesting and helpful. It’s also entertaining that you post the nasty reader award…but I would hope that you realize that everybody has bad days and take things out on others when they shouldn’t. I’m sure you’re intelligent enough not to take someone’s rantings personally. Seems like after a week or so you’d consider taking the “Nasty Reader’s” email address out of the letter though. He/She shouldn’t suffer a lifetime of emails concerning his rude message to you, don’t you think? Just wanted to let you know my thoughts. Have a great day and thanks for helping us figure out what these bugs are!!

Hi Jenna,
We had to admit, what you wrote had a ring of truth to it, and in a moment of guilt, we removed links to both Jonathan Ayres and one other individual in the Nasty Readers archives. We did not however remove the addresses, just the link, so readers can still write letters after physically typing the address into their email program. We still feel though that there is some accountability that falls on the shoulders of the originators of the nasty emails that remains to be done. That would be an apology which is the only polite thing to do. The fact that Jonathan never apologized leads us to believe that this was more than just a bad day and probably runs far deeper in his personality, permeating daily activities. We do believe though, as several respondants indicated, that Jonathan is not an adult, and that he might be the playground bully. The first two recipients of the Nasty Reader Award wrote to apologize, though one claimed the nasty email originated with her “extremely rude and unprincipled boyfriend,” and we immediately removed the link when we received her letter.

thanks for nothing asshole

Jen Cifone

babygunit20012003@yahoo.com

(05/03/2008) (no subject)

i was wondering if u could tell me what this bug is i looked
online and couldnt find it the pics arent very good because
the bugs would not stop moveing im not sure if its a worm
or laravae but i was hopeing maby you could help they keep
crawling up our drain and into our  bathtube and we would
really like to know what we are dealing with if you could
reply as soon as possible that would be great thank you.

jen cifone

Dear Jen Cifone,

When we opened your email today, we couldn’t imagine what
we had done to deserve such a vehement response coupled with
such a strong personal insult. Rarely do we encounter such
bitterness in our readership. We searched our email inbox
and found the query your wrote the day before and can only
deduce that your anger stems from the fact that you did not
get a response from us within 24 hours. We will now attempt
to remedy that oversight. Your photo is out of focus and is
totally useless for identification purposes. We do, however,
have some personal advice for you. You might consider going
back to school to learn how to write and spell as your communication
skills are clearly lacking. Your grammar is atrocious and
we have no idea what a bathtube is. While you are improving
your basic skills, you might want to consider enrolling in
a photography class so you can take images that will be helpful
for any further identifications you desire. You might also
want to consider rounding out your re-education by enrolling
in an etiquette class. That will probably also benefit you
greatly. On a positive note, you have been awarded our Third
Ever Nasty Reader Award. Congratulations.
Additionally, we will open the identification of your mysterious
blurry creature to our readership, who may have suggestions
or general comments to pass your way. By all means readership,
write to Jen Cifone at babygunit20012003@yahoo.com
and tell her what you think.

Ed. Note: We seriously believe that Jen Cifone
has a bet going that she could win the Nasty
Reader Award. We can’t imagine anyone composing her original
letter with such blatant disregard for the English language
nor anyone with half a brain thinking they could get that
blurry photo identified.

Reader Comment

(05/05/2008)

Please don’t drink so much whilst photographing bugs, and
try to drink even less when emailing.  These guys are really
busy and while they have a great sense of humor (they still
accept email from me!) they will only laugh if you tell them
that you were just trying to be funny. Which I hope was the
case because you really can’t be serious with that photo.
And if  the second email was from your drunk boyfriend, I’d
view this as a red flag.

cw

Update: (05/05/2008) Fuzzy Tubeworms

OMFG!!  RUN!!  RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!  ok, a slow walk would
be fine…they aren’t very fast. I think she has FUZZYTUB
WORMS !  They are often mis-identified as “Fuzzy tube worms”
but those are believed to be extinct due to over harvesting
of the fuzz for ladies hats back in the 1920’s and cheap gin
(if you could call it that) during prohibition.  A sad, sad
story, but I digress…. If this truly IS a fuzzytub worm
(timeto scrubthetubus ), she needs to get into rehab NOW as
things will only get worse.  “Prickly True Wheel Bugs” will
be spotted next and if so, may God help her as their sting
is absolutely annoying if even noticed by the poor bite victim.
Next of course comes the dreaded “Pink Elephant” which although
not a bug in any sense, the doctors in rehab can charge the
patient or their insurance company three times the rate of
Prickly True Wheel Bugs (the standard purple PTWB or the less
common “Arisaid Hebridean” Tartan dress plaid PTWB.) But then,
if she had a Arsaid Hebridean PTWB she’d be a millionaire
and insurance wouldn’t matter now, would it? Ah, never mind.
She deserves what she gets.  Mean girl. Oh, $#!* (edited for
content).  I’m out of wine.  Well, it’s time to go to bed
anyway. Much love!

Joanne

Near Chicago

Comment (05/09/2008)

Job well done!

Dear Daniel & Lisa Anne,

I’m a freaquent reader of your site since I’ve come accross
it some months ago. Even though I’ve never submitted to your
website, I find it very interesting and informative. I must
admit I was horrified to come accross your Nasty Reader Awards
tonight however and had to speak up. To think people still
behave this way is absolutely unthinkable. They think nothing
of sending such insulting e-mails and have no patience what-so-ever
without even knowing who they’re speaking to. Thinking since
they don’t know you and will never have to face you, then
there’s no consequence or reason to feel any remorse for their rude
behavior! It’s embarrassing. So I wanted to let you ladies
know how much I appreciate your hard work and devotion to
your site and your fans. Even though you have such demandig
carreers (which I’m sure take up most of your time to begin
with) you still find time for your loyal (and not so loyal)
fans. Well done ladies! Keep up the good work!

Val

Thank your for your thoughtful letter Val, but the last
we checked, Daniel was still a man. Your theory of face to
face confrontation stretches much wider than just the internet.
We have long believed that people feel isolated while driving
their motor vehicles, and this isolation contributes to road
rage. We personally always seek eye contact when attempting
to change lanes in a difficult traffic snarl since many drivers
tend to ignore a turn signal, but will rarely ignore a face
with a pointing finger. Modern day warfare is another excellent
example of what can happen when we lose touch of the fact
that people are individuals.

Update: (05/15/2008) Nasty reader award

Hello Mr. Bugperson(s) (I believe you have several people
on your staff),

I’m sorry you had to encounter that subspecies “homo sapiens
ignoramus jerkwaddus” named Jen Cifone. Letters like that
are what happen when uninvolved parents (who later end up
on Nanny 911 or Supernanny) give their 8 year old a cell phone.
You should be content in the fact that Jen will reach her
full potential when you encounter her and she says “Would
you like fries with that?” I must express my appreciation
at your expertise in the world of invertebrates, and how you
freely share it with the public. Thank you for your great
site.

Chuck

Grand Rapids, MI

Thanks Chuck, but we just imagined her spitting in those
fries.