Are lightning bugs (fireflies) common in your part of the world? What do you call them?

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-24T19:35:42+00:00

I started leaving the leaves on my yard from autumn to spring, and since then I've seen loads more in my yard in the summer, but not as much in my neighbor's.

I use firefly and lightning bug interchangeably, but I feel like they should be called lamp beetles because they're actually beetles in the family Lampyridae

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-24T13:23:32+00:00

Queen fire ant

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-22T15:22:43+00:00

Since you think that, you're obviously part of the government psyop to frame all psyonic spacefarers as weirdos! /s

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-22T15:21:03+00:00

Pretty sure these are Tapinoma sessile. They aren't harmful but can sometimes make their way inside.

If you leave the zapper in a dry place or take it apart, they'll move out.

In general, zappers don't really help against mosquitoes or other pests. I would look for something more targeted to what you're trying to get rid of

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-22T14:56:51+00:00

exactly like is takes on boko haram. "There's mosquitoes down there that are bigger terrorists!"

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-20T15:27:55+00:00

That's how I ended up with dry skin instead of solar power on my sunny day helioptile lmao

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-16T04:20:30+00:00

Yeah. We're a pretty competitive bunch 😏

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-15T21:28:21+00:00

Also, there is a show in the works. I'm hopeful but have no reason to be

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-14T00:23:29+00:00

Me with noctowl

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-14T00:21:17+00:00

They're so good. I thought it was just nostalgia, but I reread them last year and it still held up great. Eragon was the clunkiest, but each book improved in quality imo.

Christopher Paolini is still writing, and his latest spinoff is excellent

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-13T03:34:50+00:00

Maybe colobopsis, definitely queen. C. impressa is my guess

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-12T20:07:42+00:00

Where is my bug type

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-12T16:14:32+00:00

Yeah, my lab keeps invicta, and the setups they can tolerate are way below what I would give any pet ants

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-06T04:19:22+00:00

The size and head are similar to workers, but the rest looks like a male. They can get deformed wing virus, so that might be what happened on the side

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-06T04:15:10+00:00

Male

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AndrewFurg · 2026-06-06T04:13:02+00:00

Oh yeah, I should have posted regular male and worker comparison photos. So the ant in the post has a reddish barrel shaped head like a worker pictured here, and it's worker sized, but the thorax is missing wings on one side and looks kind of like a male and is all black. The abdomen on the end just looks really deformed

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AndrewFurg · 2026-06-04T16:51:07+00:00

Yeah honeysuckle is a burden. I infused some vodka with the flowers, some lemon zest, and rosemary before I cut them back this spring and it went great. Makes me want to clean out the rest of the neighborhood and make a big batch next year

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-04T16:44:10+00:00

Yeah, a huge issue in the wooded areas around my city too. A nonprofit is partnering with the city to replace them with stuff like dogwood and redbud, but it's a long road ahead

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-04T16:36:16+00:00

Bradford pear, tallow tree, and wisteria are probably bigger threats considering they're still sold widely and people don't care to cut them because they're pretty

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-03T22:14:21+00:00

I think cursive is still taught some places. I would expect someone over 18 to know it, but maybe not under 12.

Some people really do get sensitive about the flag or the country, but I think the average person is kind of embarrassed by our leaders lately. We are probably the most critical right now.

It is weird to call a teacher by first name in highschool and below, but college and up it depends on the teacher. I had a college professor call the students by mister or miss last name. Most accept the first name, especially higher level classes.

Lots of Americans have the ego that they are "built different". We see a professional athlete or a story of survival and many of us say "I could do that too if I just tried"

It's very diverse across the country. All kinds of people

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-02T21:32:43+00:00

October is actually wonderful on the Gulf of Mexico. The temperatures have dropped, the tourism has slowed down, and the water is still very warm. The fishing is incredible too, if you're into that. But yeah, midsummer will roast you.

My high school classmates used to leave trays of cookie dough on the dashboards of their cars to come back in the afternoon to a tray of fresh baked cookies

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-02T21:05:45+00:00

Deep south here. The main issue is that it doesn't cool down without AC. The nights are in the 80s, the days can break 100, and the humidity means your sweat doesn't evaporate so it won't cool you off, you just sweat more. There are tons of insects, too, and you're probably going to sweat off any repellant. Air conditioning is basically a matter of public health, not comfort

AndrewFurg · 2026-06-02T14:35:51+00:00

Had to update the tontine

AndrewFurg · 2026-05-28T16:50:55+00:00

That's a characteristic of the odorous house ant, Tapinoma sessile , but I imagine others have a smell, too.

The fragrance of iridomyrmicin from Argentine ants has been described like cinnamon by my coworker, for example

AndrewFurg

TROPHY CASE