Eden's Entomology

Check out all these hover flies! Though they may look like bees at a first glance, this insect is a member of order diptera and is a type of fly.

All three of these insects are of the Eastern Calligrapher species. The pattern on the abdomen of this particular species is so beautiful and intricate; it is just stunning how similar it remains on completely different individuals.

Meet the Spiny Asassin Bug! This freaky hemipteran is a member of family reduviidae, the assassin bugs. These insects have piercing/sucking mouthparts, of which is a tube-like structure called a rostrum. This structure is used to inject venom into the insect's prey, which begins to digest the prey's internal organs, allowing the assassin bug to to suck everything up.

I love insects and other arthropods and as a result try to photograph almost every one I encounter. I use these photographs to ID the subject later, share online (or IRL) and educate folks on the subject, or simply to have a nice photo of an animal that I am passionate about. I love studying different orders and families of many animals and especially love learning about them as I find them.

My phone's storage space does not enjoy these activities as much as I do, so I got a USB and put all my wildlife pictures in it. I started organizing them into folders as well, organized by taxonomic rank!

Basically, there is a folder labeled "Arthropoda." -> In that folder is another labeled "Insecta." The "Insecta" folder contains several folders such as -> "odonata," "ephemeroptera," and other insect orders. Under these folders, I put pics of species belonging to the order labeled. Some I have added family folders, others I haven't.

Check out this Black-Legged Tick that hitched a ride into my house then fell on my computer! This colorful species of order ixodida was not able to get off of her back so I took the chance to get some footage and a picture. She was removed and returned outdoors when I was done. Though ticks do not seem beneficial, they are still part of the ecosystem. Leaving no trace means avoiding causing harm/an impact to anything encountered on a trail/outdoors, so I did not kill or injure her.

This is also the first photograph I have ever taken of a species from order ixodida! It was a goal of mine to get a few pictures this year of orders I have not yet gotten pictures of. This is hopefully the first of many.

I also caught this Mourning Dove in our neighbors tree! I got too close and they flew away, I'm better at photographing arthropods at the moment (working on my bird ID and picture taking skills).

There was a lone plant with all of its leaves still intact, surrounded by various trees and American Pokeweed that were all bare. I was able to spot this cicada molt attached to it!

My friend and I were also able to get pretty close to this deer! There was a woman feeding her oranges by just tossing them closer and closer to the trail. She didn't even run away when 2 different folks with dogs passed by.

Also (this is no hate to the woman in question, you don't know what you don't know!), please don't feed wildlife on trails! Especially if you haven't done any research on the animal in question's dietary restrictions. It can be potentially very dangerous, even if you think something couldn't hurt. Oranges are actually not good for deer.

Even if you do know what is safe for many animals to eat, it can still be dangerous. Some animals will start to rely on humans to feed them. This can lead to them possibly becoming aggressive when other people don't have food for them, or if not aggressive, bold enough to approach VERY close (which alone can be dangerous depending on the animal). Some animals, if fed frequently, will stop looking for food on their own too. This can seriously hurt them, especially if people stop feeding them.

First and foremost, I captured these delightful hemipterans! In the first photo, we have a leaf-footed insect! Leaf-footed insects are named after the protrusions on their hind legs, that often take a leaf-like appearance, sometimes looking veiny. I could not definitively identify the insect pictured, but there is a similar photo of a Leptoglossus Phyllopus fifth-instar nymph by Dvori Feldman online. That would be my best guess, thought I think I am wrong.

As for the second hemipteran, this one appears to be a Western Conifer Seed Bug! These guys are relatively common in Ohio and harmless! I think they are absolutely adorable and I believe this one may have been trying to blend in with my work desk.

Next up, we have an orthopteran, which I don't photograph often. This is a common Camel Cricket, also known as the Cave or Spider Cricket! Despite the name, it is not a true cricket but rather a close relative. Camel Crickets belong to the same suborder (Ensifera) that true crickets do, but as they have no wings, they do not fall under the cricket category. They are closely related and belong in the superfamily Rhaphidophoroidea.

I love life. I love seeing and learning about every living thing on this planet. I absolutely love being able to share not only my photography but all of these amazing things. I love being able to teach people things and learn things myself through this page.

With that being said, I live in Ohio. For a few months every year, everything is COVERED in snow, dead, or hiding. I struggle a lot with motivation and engaging with my hobbies during fall and winter. There aren't as many insects and I don't enjoy going out in the cold even to get landscape pictures (which I am trying to do more).

I and lots of other people in my life get a bit depressed this time of year.

If you or someone you know struggles with this too, I wanted to provide some resources. Whether you are diagnosed with SAD, feel this way normally, or regardless are a little down this time of year, these are for you.

To learn more and discover tips to help:

For in depth guidance:

For help as soon as possible:

Check what I found in my backyard this afternoon!

Unidentified millipede, very cute.

There were so many mushrooms! I am not great with identifying mushrooms, so just enjoy the show!