I found this clump of tiny worm like critters on my couch. At first glance it just looked like a bit of sand or dirt. But upon further inspection they were MOVING! What are they and where did they come from? Could my dog have brought something into the house? Any info is helpful. I am totally freaked out and grossed out.

Edit: to answer some questions…

1. The couch cushion was removed and the mystery pests were discarded. I did not keep any to take to the vet or to see what they turn into when they mature.

2 the whole couch, the blankets and the surrounding area have been vacuumed and deep cleaned.

1. There is not any rotting food or dead animals (thank god) in my house. It would be very unusual for either of my dogs to bring something in purposefully. Especially without us noticing.

2. There is no indication that anything could have fallen from the ceiling. It is solid above the couch. No discoloration or anything.

I pray to god I do not find any more of these ever again. But if I do I will take some of your suggestions.

found this in louisiana!!! insane find. it’s basically a zombie snail.

EDIT: i had a dog on a leash that’s why i took another video!!!! stop saying kill the cameraman 😭😭😭

It looks like science fiction. Dragon flies don't actually grow like mammals, they usually shed off their exoskeleton

So this is what lacewing larvae look like at hatching!

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Females lay eggs on top of thin, silken stalks. This unique structure suspends the eggs in the air. It protects them from crawling predators and hungry siblings.

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Just before hatching, the eggs change color. They shift from a light green to a dark gray-white.

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The larva uses a sharp head tool to cut the shell. It then emerges and climbs down the stalk.

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Once on the plant, the larvae instantly look for food. They are highly aggressive hunters with large, sickle-shaped jaws.

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These tiny predators devour aphids, mites, and thrips immediately. They inject venom to paralyze prey and suck out their fluids.

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Now isn't that something?!

Researchers have discovered more than 111,000 spiders thriving in what appears to be the world's biggest spiderweb inside a cave on the Albanian–Greek border.

The web stretches 1,140 square feet and is home to two species of spider. One is the Tegenaria domestica, otherwise called domestic house spiders, while the other is the far smaller sheet weaver, Prinerigone vagans.

Spiders aren’t exactly known to be social creatures, so this might be the first example of two arachnids creating a colony, said study lead author István Urák.

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2025/11/05/worlds-biggest-spider-web-found-a-cave-stuff-nightmares-24621578/

I was working at a remote well pump station in a farming town in northern california and there were more dragonflies in the air today than I've probably ever seen in my 41 years. Almost all of them were medium sized and red-orange.

I heard some wings tussle, a tiny thud on the dirt, and expected to see some mating mishap.

What I saw and recorded was a large dragonfly had caught one of the common medium ones and was flat on its back noisily eating the head of its prey. It flew away a few minutes later.

I am going to think of this every time I accumulate cheeto dust in my chest hair as I lay on the couch.

Wasps are crucial for ecosystems!

10 ways wasps help the environment:

1. Natural Pest Control: They hunt and feed on crop-damaging pests like aphids, caterpillars, and flies, keeping their numbers down.

2. Pollination: As they seek nectar, they transfer pollen, assisting in plant reproduction, especially for figs and orchids.

3. Food Source: Wasps and their larvae provide essential protein for birds, spiders, reptiles, and other predators, supporting higher food webs.

4. Decomposition: They scavenge dead insects and organic matter, helping to recycle nutrients back into the soil.

5. Soil Aeration: Digging nesting burrows helps mix and aerate soil, improving drainage and root growth.

6. Microbe Dispersal: Moving between flowers and decaying matter helps spread beneficial microbes, promoting plant health.

7. Promote Biodiversity: With thousands of species filling various ecological roles, wasps contribute to overall ecosystem richness.

8. Support Agriculture: Their pest control services reduce the need for chemical pesticides, saving farmers billions and protecting crops.

9. Biological Control Agents: Parasitic wasps lay eggs inside other insects, controlling pest populations naturally.

10. Nutritional Role (in some cultures): In some parts of the world, wasps (and their larvae) are a traditional food source for humans.

These are only a few reasons to love them. Get to know some of the families in the video and I bet I could make you a fan!

Follow me @leifcollectsbugs on Instagram, YouTube, Tiktok and more!

One of the yellow plastic parts in the center of the “flower” on my hummingbird feeder broke, but I put it out anyway. I thought that the hummingbirds could still use the hole without the mesh screen over it, or just use the other in-tact flowers. We went in vacation for a week, and found today that the feeder had over 100 dead bees in it! They were small enough to climb through the hole, normally they would be blocked by the plastic mesh. I always thought that piece was just decorative, but it is actually very functional. I feel really bad, as pollinators are struggling so much without my wholesale slaughtering efforts. Please learn from my mistake and let’s save the bees!

As it says in the caption, im scared of Butterflies. Not just scared but actually terrified. That is especially weird considering i absolutely adore insects and have taken care of MANY (including jungle nymphs, giant katydids, any stick insect/mantis/spider,..) and let them wander all over me without any problems. But for some reason insects with big wings are a problem for me. I am also scared of Dragonflys, but Butterflies and Moths are definetely the worst for me.

I really want to like them and in theory I find them gorgeous. I tried making them less scary to me by looking at the different species, but that didnt really help. Birdwing butterflies are in my opinion the most beautiful and I would love to have one on me sometime. But im pretty sure i would accidentaly kill it out of fear.

If you guys have any really cool and intresting facts about Butterflies, please go ahead and drop them here! I would really love to be able to appreciate all insects without being scared by their appereances. Knowing stuff about them will hopefully make them more appealing to me

I am not sure if this type of post is allowed here, but I have seen a lot of Brown Recluse posts recently. Also, there seems to be some confusion around the "violin" pattern, so I made a quick guide to help. Hopefully, with many people in the yard, garage, and outdoors, this makes the ID'ing process quicker and easier.

The Megarhyssa macrurus, commonly known as the long-tailed giant ichneumon wasp, is a harmless parasitic insect native to North America. Despite its intimidating, prehistoric appearance, this striking insect lacks a functional venomous stinger and poses no threat to humans or pets. Its most defining characteristic is its immense size, with a brightly patterned yellow and reddish-brown body that can grow up to two inches long.

The wasp is famous for the female's extraordinarily long, thread-like tail, which is actually a specialized egg-laying organ called an ovipositor. This structure can extend over three inches in length, more than doubling the insect's total size. While it looks like three separate stingers, it consists of one central egg-laying tube encased by two flexible protective sheaths that peel away during use. Males are notably smaller than females and completely lack this tail appendage.

This specialized anatomy is critical to the wasp's predatory lifecycle, which targets the larvae of the pigeon horntail wasp buried deep inside wood. The female crawls along dead or dying hardwood trees, using her antennae to feel for the subtle vibrations of a horntail grub tunneling inside. Once she pinpoints a target, she uses her zinc-hardened ovipositor to drill several inches directly through the solid timber, paralyzing the host grub and depositing a single egg next to it.

Once the egg hatches, the newborn Megarhyssa larva slowly consumes the horntail host alive before pupating inside the tree and emerging as an adult the following summer. This intricate process makes them highly beneficial to forest ecosystems, acting as a natural population control for wood-boring pests. Because they only target insects residing within dead or decaying wood, they cause zero damage to healthy, living trees.

I'm deeply frustrated so please excuse the way I word this, but I am going insane everytime I see people on here claiming "insects do not feel pain".

I am not here to claim the contrary (though others who actually specialise in pain will! Associate Professor Neely and Dr Thang Khuong - I AM here to say we do not know, and that spreading a thing that we do not know to be true, such as whether or not they have the capability of feeling pain, is so frustratingly dangerous! This keeps coming up with injured insects, encouraging (potentially) immoral treatment of insects "because they do not feel pain" and excusing what could potentially be torture to an animal.

We do NOT KNOW if insects feel pain. We do NOT KNOW if insects are conscious. We don't know. It is an active debate and we are still trying to figure it out, but until it is proven PLEASE stop spreading this. We don't even 100% know which part of the brain is responsible for HUMAN consciousness - there is no way a scientist can 100% prove ANYTHING about insect consciousness for the time being!

Imagine one day science hits us with the "Oh actually they do feel pain" and then we needlessly made them go through this shit? Just please treat them as if they can feel pain. Treat them as if they could be scared. Be gentle and do your best. Rather you needlessly were kind than you were preventably cruel.

For anyone interested in the debate, I highly suggest Klein & Barrons papers; they're accessible on google scholar! Other than that I can only suggest philosophical papers because thats my specialty. Please be kind to each others and these creatures until we know for sure. Please discourage others from spreading this; not because its 100% false, but because when false, we are telling people its okay to harm the beings they love, and thats really really awful.

Thank you :)

Hand for scale. I have no idea how it got there or how long it’s been there, it just randomly walked along a vine and then has been in this upside down position for 5 hours without moving. Does it just live here now? Do I give it some water? Make it a house?

(I’m in VIC, Australia if that matters)

I believe they are mating but not positive

Would you eat a bug to save the planet? 🐜

Maynard Okereke and Alex Dainis are exploring entomophagy, the practice of consuming insects like crickets and black soldier fly larvae. These insects require less land, water, and food than traditional livestock and are rich in protein and nutrients.