I planted a few Quercus Accutisima (Sawtooth Oak). A year later, I saw this weird stem that looked like perhaps a deer was grazing on the tree. I reached for the stem and touched it. It didn’t feel like a twig. It was flexible and squishy. I quickly withdrew my hand and took this picture.

I assume this is a bug, caterpillar, or worm of sorts mimicking a stem. I have tried Seek and iNaturalist. It sees the tree but not the critter on the tree.

My question is: what is the critter in the center of that picture?

This is in Central New York State, USA

Hello! I'm a creature designer with an interest in bugs and I'd love to find someone I can consult about the nature of bug eyes, how vision works in insects, and how this could be applied to character designs. I hope this is an appropriate place to ask for help, thanks in advance!

Hi All,
I keep Dermestids but recently have had an infiltration of ham beetles. Apparently the larvae look so similar that you wont be able to tell them apart, advice is to scrap the whole colony.

There are certainly some larvae I’ve notice that don’t look 100% like the Dermestids, but not enough for me to be sure they’re ham beetle larvae, they just look a little off.
First pic is my adult Dermestids. Second pic is a Dermestid larvae and a questionable larvae that just doesn’t look exactly like a Dermestid. Third pic is the adult ham beetle I’m dealing with.

Is there a way for me to definitely ID what larvae I’m looking at??
If I can save my remaining Dermestids that’d be preferable, but at this point I can only ID the adults apart.

Edit: the species I keep is dermestes maculatus. Idk what exact species the ham beetles are.

Sorry for the bad pictures, I was so excited I was shaking LMAO !!

I recently relaxed a butterfly and buckmoth in a relaxation chamber, and just removed them a few minutes ago. For something to keep them in, I ordered a lot of floating frames (it has a thin plastic wrap type layer), since I've seen this done before with preserved insects I've bought. I'm a bit nervous to put them in immediately after taking them out of the relaxation chamber. If I put them in now, will they mold or be damaged by trapped moisture? Should I wait for them to dry first, and for how long?

i’ll add the second image in comments. this dragonfly was connected to another dragonfly seemingly, or sitting on the wall right above another one. it wasn’t a mating wheel though. it looked like they were connected at the mouth, but then they flew off separately seconds later. this is one of the dragonflies. it looks like it’s convulsing and pulsating its abdomen towards the ground. why is this, and what’s going on? is the dragonfly ok?

Little bug was curious

i noticed something really strange with the ghost ant colony that has been infesting my boyfriend’s house (east coast of florida) and am hoping someone with some ant knowledge can explain it!

in the first two pictures, you can see a rather large congregation of ghost ants around a windowsill and outlet. there was a steady population increase over the past week. ants could be found in the bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom. but never this many in one location.

i went to buy some liquid bait traps and when i returned 30 minutes later the ants were almost completely gone (last two photos).

what would cause this very sudden disappearance? and what would cause the congregation in the first place?

not really looking for pest control advice. i’ve got that mostly sorted! i’m just an ecologist fascinated by all creatures big and small and want to understand more about ghost ants and their behaviors!

FL, tampa bay area. he reminds me of leaf footed bugs but the body looks to be shaped differently so i'm not sure

We found this (dead) little guy on the floor at my work. I’m in Colorado, and I work in a hospital on the 4th floor so we’ve had fun little theories about how he got in. But everything I’m reading says they’re not established here, so maybe in a supply box or something is my guess. Unless I got my google identification wrong? Haha

I’ve fed this spider bugs that I think would be prey to it and it’s been on a truck door that I’ve been working on but only after bringing the truck in did this spider decide it was a spot to make its web on the door/driver window and have had two other spiders show up around my other gazebos and have tried to feed those two as well. What kind of spider is this? Bug I fed to it in this video is an outdoor cockroach for size example.

South-East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Thought it was some kind of orb weaver or wolf spider, but nothing really matches so far.
iNaturalist and google image search isn’t giving any clear results. Help appreciated!

What is this guy (besides kind of adorable)? He is probably something like 7 or 8mm long.

I made a little place to help me find from bugs, during bug hunts, and was wondering if the one I created, looks alright

It's mostly for :Terrestrial Isopods, Beetles, Spiders, and Ants

I'm worried the birds will go after it, or if it'll cause risk of species invasion

Please correct my id if I’m wrong too!

My neighbor found this guy in his warehouse at work and brought him home to me because I raise monarchs (not a pro, first year). But I live in Michigan and from what I’ve read, they’re about to overwinter. I don’t want to disrupt that…
What should I do? I’m prepared to raise him inside or should I release him in hopes that he can find somewhere quickly?
Super new at this, please be kind! Also a huge empath and sometimes I know that gets me in trouble haha. less

eastern US, in a parking lot. it looks like some kind of katydid but the wings seem disproportionately small for a katydid? also not sure what the brown spots are, is it injured/sick?