rss site comment
March 1, 2010
site comment
just want to say i think the site is awsome. been usin it since i was 5 years old and i am 16 now. i recomend it to everybody.
josh smith
Wow Josh,
This is just about the best fanmail letter we have ever received. You must have been one of our first readers back when we were a brand new presence on the internet.
venomous
February 26, 2010
things that are VENOMOUS are more then once referred to on this site as poisonous there is a big difference between the two.
G. Davisson
Dear G. Davisson
Merriam-Webster.com defines Poisonous as “1 : destructive, harmful 2 : having the properties or effects of poison : venomous 3 : spiteful, malicious.” Merriam=Webster.com defines Venomous as “1 : full of venom: as a : poisonous, envenomed b : noxious, pernicious <expose a venomous dope ring — Don Porter> c : spiteful, malevolent <venomous criticism> 2 : having a venom-producing gland and able to inflict a poisoned wound <venomous snakes>.” Since that bastion for defining the English language uses the two words to define one another and indicates that they are interchangeable, we don’t feel we are entirely incorrect in our usage, though there might be a subtle difference that we should consider. The bite of a Brown Recluse Spider would be venomous, while poisoning would occur following the ingestion of a Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper. Rather than just providing a blanket statement chastising our language usage, can you please cite some concrete examples of the adjective usage that you find offensive? That way we can consider them more closely. Even better, can you provide the source for the definition that creates a solid distinction for the proper and incorrect usages of the two terms?
Hello!
I just wanted to extend a thanks to all you who make “What’s That Bug” possible. It’s really an excellent site and I often find myself perusing it just to feed my amateur entomolgist’s appetite! I noticed the Nasty Reader’s Section you have and was both amazed by the breath-taking idiocy of some of the readers featured there and amused by your responses.
So thanks again, for all you hard work on an excellent site!
Nate McInnis
Hi Nate,
Thanks for your words of encouragement.
Kids science book
February 15, 2010
Hello, I’m writing a couple of science books for children but the publishers want them to be international. One of the experiments is about garden science and looking at what bugs you can find in your soil, through a funnel shining a light on top. I need to come up with a list of international bugs and wondered if you could help? Many thanks indeed,
Lisa
International!
Hi Lisa,
Please describe the experiment more thoroughly as it doesn’t make sense to us how the funnel and light are used. One international subterranean dweller is a Mole Cricket, but we are uncertain how your trap would work in finding the mole cricket. It would be much easier if we just provided you with a list of potential soil dwellers.
Daniel
Thanks so much for getting back to me! It’s like a Berlese funnel experiment. A list of potential soil dwellers would be absolutely perfect! And if you happened to know which were most widespread, all the better, but I realise that is very hard to ascertain sometimes,
All my very best wishes,
Lisa
Comment from Australia
Hi guys,
Congratulations on being near the end with the book project. … As an aside, I noticed the letter about the light and the funnel. One method of trapping insects is to bury a bottle with a funnel so that the lip of the funnel is at ground level. A light is suspended above it and ground dwellers walk to the light and fall into the funnel. Hope that sheds some light on it 
aussietrev
Field Guides
February 14, 2010
I’m traveling to Bhutan and am looking for insect field guides and was hoping to get some recommendations.
Thanks in advance.
Steve Nanz
Hi Steve,
We have no information, but perhaps one of our readers will provide a comment.
Dangerous , deadly or painful bugs.
February 11, 2010
I was looking for a way to identify a few bugs in my home. It would be helpful if the search included criteria such as how many legs , wings etc.
Also , I can’t understand why you would include an unnecessary carnage page and not have a page dedicated to which insects known to man actually are dangerous , deadly or have a painful sting or bite even if they are not venomous.
It renders the UC page pointless if you don’t list all the bugs which aren’t unnecessarily killed.
Sure I love living things , but not if they bite or crawl into my ear when I’m sleeping.
So please include a list of those bugs . It’s very hard to find the information elsewhere .
TM
Hi TM,
We just might take you up on this suggestion. We can call the page Justifiable Homicide. We would definitely put Argentine Ants and Aphids at the top of the list. Some creatures like Black Widows might be dangerous, but we could never include them on a Justifiable Insecticide, though they might be sub-categorized on that page.
Lack of any kind of insect (Alaska)
February 5, 2010
We are here temporarily (Fairbanks AK), and I have not seen one insect of any kind in three months! It’s really creepy! Not even a house related “bug”. Just one spiderweb. Now even dust bunnies make me jump, as I’m like someone waiting for a balloon to pop. I suppose I’ll pay for this later when the mosquitoes hatch, but it’s sure fun to look at your website for now….
J Sugino
Dear J,
We are sorry to hear about the dearth of insects in Alaska, and your subsequent withdrawals, but it is currently winter there. We are happy to hear you are getting some pleasure from our website, and we assure you that come spring, you will undoubtedly be graced with some Alaskan insect wildlife.
Bug inspired nail polish
December 16, 2009
Hello,
I’m a huge fan of your site and LOVE bugs. I work in the fashion industry and recently am working on a nail polish line where my first color is inspired by the green metalic beetle (I think there are a couple different ones). Anyways, please check it out here: http://needsupply.com/womens/dick-weed.html or on my site Bleachblack.com.
Best,
Kristin
Nice color Kristin,
We will forward this link to some of our fashionista friends.
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