Other Common Names
Entomo-portraitists, arthropo-documenters, bug snappers, card fillers, hexapodic nerds, bugomologists
Pronunciation
FO-toz uhv BUHG-eyed kun-TRIB-yuh-tuhrs
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Classification well established, no recognized synonyms.
Numbers
Single species described. As of June 2010, 40510. Check
here for more current information.
Size
Typical range, head to toe is 915 to 2130 mm (three to seven feet)
Identification
Look for perpetual squint, sunburn, poison ivy, briar scratches, burrs, bee stings, and for ticks and chiggers actively feeding. Tarsal formula usually 5-5; antennae typically obsolete; head often with distinct setae. Sexual dimorphism obvious, once even considered different species (or from different planets).
You May Be an ENTOMOLOGIST If …
you drive with a net sticking out your car window....
you've ever looked at insect genitalia on purpose...
you have more than a dozen plastic insects but no kids...
you collect insects with a vacuum cleaner...
you wear your flashlight on your head...
you plan your vacation based on the emergence of an unusual insect...
you have a personalized license plate with an insect name on it...
you keep a jug of malt, beer and yeast mixture in your refrigerator...
your clothes smell like moth balls year-round...
you carry a vial in your pocket at all times...
you swerve to avoid an insect crossing the road...
more than half of the Tupperware containers in your freezer are full of insects...
the buzzing in your ear turns out to be an Aphodius from last nights blacklighting...
your best table linen doubles as a blacklighting sheet...
you stop to inspect road kills for Silphids...
you refer to your kids as grubs...
you carry a BioQuip credit card...
you pick insects out of the radiator grill of your or someone else's car...
you hang out under the street lights at a highway rest area...
you buy 90 proof alcohol to pickle insects, not your liver...
your fish tank is filled with aquatic insects instead of fish...
you have an insect tattoo somewhere on your body...
you own more insect nets than pairs of underwear...
your end table is an insect cabinet...
a field of cow pies excites you...
you own chest waders but no fishing pole...
you've ever deliberately gone to Arizona in the summer...
you have more than $1000 worth of camera equipment to take pictures of insects...
you've ever used a kitchen strainer and a broom handle to catch aquatic insects...
you think automotive antifreeze was invented as an insect preservative...
you’ve ever been told "come clean these insects off the kitchen table so we can eat dinner"...
the reading material in your bathroom features the American Entomologist...
you think that a flower is missing something if there is no insect on it...
Range
Throughout the continental US and Canada, with some migrants from other geographical areas.
Habitat
Homes, back yards, parks, most wild areas - just about anywhere their arthropod quarry is found.
Season
Primarily Summer, Spring, and Fall. Can occasionally be seen pathetically trudging through woods in winter, peeling bark off trees and turning over logs, muttering to self.
In mild-winter climates (Florida, California, South Texas) often active year-round.
Food
Anything that will fit in a pocket, including granola bars, apples, perhaps banana pudding in a baggie.
Life Cycle
In their twenties and thirties many will bear children. The children are capable of active bug-searching by age two, though in some cases squishing rather than photographing is the apparent goal.
Metamorphosis has 4 stages:
Egg - Females produce eggs.
Larva(Embryo) - The eggs develop into embryos inside the female. Embryos emerge as nymphs.
Nymph(Children) - Nymphs are born alive. They do not look like adults initially, the head and eyes are proportionally larger. Feeding intensifies during the teenage years. Their bodies develop into an adult shape. This change takes anywhere from 18 to 30 years. Current climate conditions have prolonged this.
Adult - After a period of time, the adults usually break out of the nest, get jobs and move. Have been known to return to the nest after several years.
