A few things for those engaging in the wildlife trade but care about conservation to make peace with: While exotic pet trade helps understanding the habits of animals , it doesn’t directly help conservation. This is a rhetoric I’ve seen a lot of herp keepers buy, but it’s crazy cope.

Pristine areas see insect decline. New research points to climate change as a primary factor. #Insects #Climate #Environment

Hello Bluesky. Contrary to its name, i am typing this when Hong Kong is hit by a super typhoon. Last Sunday, I got my hands on this gorgeous stag beetle (Odontolabis stevensi duivenbodei), endemic to Sangihe Island. I look forward to breeding them. #inverts

let me share a little story about a remarkable wasp that I encountered yesterday in our local deserts I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ?? here she is at her burrow entrance.

People often say that hummingbirds take the niche of insects, but few know that the closest actual analogue are paper wasps. I wont elaborate further.

Tonight I saw 3 moon moths (Actias ningpoana) in a single walk. This is the third brood of the year, with the last one coming in October. #invertefest

In my trip to Taiwan I visited a few beetle stores including Insect Jungle, which offers an incredible variety of pet beetles and supplies. They include Rhaetus westwoodi, one of the most prized stag beetles, and Dynastes satanas which is rare in the wild, among other uncommon species. #invertefest

For #invertefest here’s a lovely specimen of what is IMO one of the coolest stag beetles in Taiwan - Neolucanus maximus. Found at midnight when summer comes to an end, their unique mandibles have earned the nickname “dragon’s tooth” given by enthusiasts.

Bug time!! Got this one done just in time for #Invertefest ~

With larvae weighing over 250 grams and adults weighing only a quarter of its larval weight, Megasoma rex is the heaviest insect in the world. It is split from Megasoma actaeon in 2018, based on small morphological differences and geographical isolation. #invertefest

Leaf insects are one of the rarest phasmids in HK, with no specimens in museums and only a few photos online. They have been high on my wishlist, then I saw what looked like a bizarre assassin bug. I still couldn’t believe what I found. Happy #InverteFest !!!!

American carrion beetles, which carry the unfortunate name of Necrophila americana! These were hard to get photos of, between how active they were and how much the rabbit carcass they were likely looking to lay some eggs in was stinking :P #Silphidae #beetles #coleoptera #insects #bugs #photos

Largest cicada in the world! Megapomponia imperatoria (empress cicada) came to the moth sheet at Fraser’s Hill, Malaysia. #bugsky #inverts

I found this beauty dead by the road. It is Amplypterus panopus, one of the largest sphingids in HK. As a male, it only has a wingspan of 13cm, but females can reach 17cm. As it likely lived a long life, the moth is a bit battered and lost much of its striking colours. #teammoth #inverts

One of my favourite stag beetles (Hexarthrius parryi) 😇 Hailing from much of Southeast Asia, members of the genus are notorious for their fierce personality. They give off a powerful aura. #inverts #bugsky

Don't have an invertebrate artwork to post for #InverteFest? I got you covered. I teamed up with multiple experts to create guides to comprehend various invertebrate anatomy. Links to the full posts in the reply below.

Some of the guests in our bee-hotel this weekend. We offer rooms 2mm to 10mm in diameter that attract mason and leafcutter bees; and other solitary bees/wasps (including parasitic/cuckoo species). Also get a range of interlopers that just need a room for the night. Hours of entertainment! #Staffs

Two alternative views of Cream-spot Tiger - cute or what! #mothsmatter #teammoth

i love u tiger beetle

Always excited to see this fellow when May returns. Irura bidenticulata 🙂 #inverts

I just counted 0 bugs on my 1.8km journey using the #BugsMatter app! I'm helping scientists measure #insect declines!

Tasmanian Devils: cute, bite-y, and full of tapeworms. Despite hosting them in the *thousands*, these tapeworms seem to cause little to no ill effects on the Tassie devil's health #Invertebrate 🧪 dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2021/12/anop...

Hong Kong finished CNC with another third place in species‼️ We have always performed pretty well every year. I didn’t have many other chances to go out unfortunately, only ~80 species. Due to a forecasted period of showers, Friday and Saturday looked a bit pessimistic, but it all turned out fine?

Sea roomba (Tachypleus tridentatus) type of night ‼️‼️ they are much more common than I thought (we saw ~30 tonight), but the apparent decrease in population is worrying.

IT'S FINISHED! The Art of #InverteFest April 2025 Edition A digital art book showcasing the work of 86 artists from around the world, in celebration of overlooked invertebrate fauna. Thank you to the human artists who contributed to our art book! Download here drive.google.com/file/d/1JvEx...

New week is here #MilkTeaAliance & so here are the upcoming events for it. Before we start though. @rsf.org released their #RSFIndex2025 on the state of press freedom & things are looking bad globally. In Asia-Pacific no country is now rated good #JournalismIsNotACrime rsf.org/en/classemen... /1

Wowowoww. Super cooperative horned ghost crab. So handsome. #inverts

Today's bird photos! It was sunny today! I mentioned yesterday that we found a nest, and the humans had set up a tent there.... #birds

Good job to everyone who said B. Uraniidae. Now what is this? A. Uraniidae B. Zygaenidae C. Papilionidae D. Geometridae E. Noctuidae

Test your moth knowledge! What family does this moth belong to? A. Bombycidae B. Uraniidae C. Pterophoridae D. Tineodidae E. None of the above #inverts

It’s 4:14 in the morning I can already here that dumbass uwu bird

Happy #Invertefest ! Some of sketches of one of my all-time favourites- the Giant Malaysian Leaf Insect 🦋 #kidlitart #traditionalart

The vibes between InverteFest and the City Nature Challenge are so different. CNC is like "don't let the other town beat you!" and InverteFest is like "everyone without a spine is going for beers later, make sure your local worm gets an invite"

#InverteFest has already ended. Anyways, here’s a cool bug I got secondhand - a Chilean stag beetle, posed lifelike (i failed miserably - old specimens are hard to relax…) These used to be cheap until they become protected. Now there is a small supply, at least they won’t get Darwin’d any time soon.

Forgot I had a photo of its cousin, the spiny lobster Panulirus ornatus. They are both in infraorder Achelata (= no claws) and share the funny phyllosoma larval stage #InverteFest 🦑

Also underappreciated, blattodeans AKA cockroaches. Only a few species of many are pests (just like moths!) The rest are extremely cool. #InverteFest

#InverteFest has already ended. Anyways, here’s a cool bug I got secondhand - a Chilean stag beetle, posed lifelike (i failed miserably - old specimens are hard to relax…) These used to be cheap until they become protected. Now there is a small supply, at least they won’t get Darwin’d any time soon.

From Day 3/4 of #InverteFest. City Nature Challenge has ended, I only got 1 chance to go out but it will be enough moths for me to post for a week or so. Anyway, so selected cool moths. Writing descriptions for some is quite tedious!

Day 3 (I was informed Sat. was day 3, not 4) of #InverteFest: a seriously fine moth, the aptly-named Ramadasa pavo. I let out a little gasp when @hkmoths.bsky.social mentioned its name when we were checking the traps. Though it flew away shortly after, it soon arrived again.

Day 4/5 of #InverteFest: While not as flamboyant as other Hymenopodidae, the Asian twig mantis (Ambivia undata) is a master of disguise. Its warty, grey body resembles a twig, and it stretches its forearms to blend in. One of HK’s rare mantises, and probably the hardest I’ve screamed for an animal.

Day 3 (I was informed Sat. was day 3, not 4) of #InverteFest: a seriously fine moth, the aptly-named Ramadasa pavo. I let out a little gasp when @hkmoths.bsky.social mentioned its name when we were checking the traps. Though it flew away shortly after, it soon arrived again.

Day 4/5 (when the insects were spotted) of #InverteFest: Maybe people aren’t as enthusiastic about the twig mantis as I was. But I know what the Internet loves, the mega-moths. (Attacus atlas, Actias ningpoana, Erebus ephesperis, Lyssa zampa).

Day 4/5 (when the insects were spotted) of #InverteFest: Maybe people aren’t as enthusiastic about the twig mantis as I was. But I know what the Internet loves, the mega-moths. (Attacus atlas, Actias ningpoana, Erebus ephesperis, Lyssa zampa).

Happy #invertefest ! These are some Eastern Hercules Beetle ceramic shakers I made. #ceramics #art

Day 4/5 of #InverteFest: While not as flamboyant as other Hymenopodidae, the Asian twig mantis (Ambivia undata) is a master of disguise. Its warty, grey body resembles a twig, and it stretches its forearms to blend in. One of HK’s rare mantises, and probably the hardest I’ve screamed for an animal.

A submission for #InverteFest : quick drawing of Rhaetus westwoodi, a one-of-a-kind stag beetle from the eastern Himalayas. It is highly prized in the pet/specimen trade, but very obscure outside of it. Being very rare, little is known about its biology and egg-laying habits.

PeriLumpus 🥹 (Perilampus sp. nugget wasp 🖤) #InverteFest

oh apparently it’s #invertefest today??? hi yes hello inverts are like my entire brand 🫶

can i retroactively tag this for #InverteFest. look at my cricket boy