Bug Love

by Stephanie Ernst · 2009-06-10 16:30:00 UTC
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No, not love between bugs, but love for bugs. That's right--I like bugs, a lot. I watch them. I take photos of them. And as long as they're not biting me, I don't mind when they crawl around on me either. (Someday I'll tell you about how fascinating it feels to have a walking stick moving gently across your face, checking out the terrain, and what it feels like to have neighbors stare at you like you've lost it when you're lying in the grass in your pajamas at 6:30 a.m. watching ants move along a garden-hose freeway.) And obviously, I don't (intentionally) kill them.

So I'm naturally pleased to have discovered the Web site BugGuide.net:

We are an online community of naturalists who enjoy learning about and sharing our observations of insects, spiders, and other related creatures.

We enjoy the opportunity to instill in others the fascination and appreciation that we share for the intricate lives of these oft-maligned creatures.

Awesome. And their method makes me love them even more: "We collect photographs of bugs from the United States and Canada for identification and research." When I first stumbled upon the site, I waded warily through it, worried that I was at some point going to run into celebration of the practice of killing, collecting, and displaying. But so far, so good!

If you have a fascinating tiny friend sharing your home or yard you want help identifying, or you just want to learn more about insects and other arthropods in general, check out this site. (You can consult InsectIdentification.org as well.)

Photo by Michelle Lynn St. Sauveur, submitted to BugGuide.net

Stephanie Ernst wrote the original Animal Rights blog at Change.org until December 2009. She can now be found at Animal Rights & AntiOppression.
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