The Entomologist on the Internet

Interviewing with Alie Ward on her wildly popular Ologies podcast got me thinking about the internet from the perspective of entomologists, both professional and aspiring amateur. You simply cannot take anything too seriously. You must laugh at yourself when you do. Here are some broad categories of fun and frustration for your entertainment.

Memes

One enduring complaint of professional entomologists is memes. They are nearly always an oversimplification, if not outright misinformation, intended to be the last word on the subject. Memes are sometimes insulting, insinuating that anyone holding a different view is illiterate or worthy only of ridicule. Mostly, memes reveal more about their creator or re-tweeter than they do about the audience, let alone the subject. Those memes that are obviously humorous are the ones I like best. I have even created a few of my own.

(Object) for Scale

One of my favorite scenarios is when someone who wants a particularly large insect or arachnid identified places some object next to it “for scale.” The object is frequently monetary currency, a coin for smaller creatures, and some paper denomination for larger organisms. I cannot resist retorts like “This just in, spiders begging for money, film at eleven,” or “Please do not give them money, they will only use it to buy pheromones.”

Other objects include pocket knives, car keys or fobs, disposable cigarette lighters….Terrific. The insect isn’t scary enough, we have to give it a weapon, too? “That one looks like it is going to kill you with fire!” “What you have there is a nymph, it’s not old enough to drive!” I try to provide legitimate identifications for people making those requests, but I enjoy having a little fun, too.

Fishfly, © WhatsThatBug.com

At least this giant water bug got some lip balm out of the deal (© WhatsThatBug.com)

Wasted Appreciation?

A truly agonizing situation is when some random individual posts images of an insect or arachnid I have been dying to see myself and never found. Why? Why?! (grimaces skyward, shakes fists in air). In fairness, the person posting had to have some degree of curiosity to bother photographing the thing, but too often I still convince myself that true appreciation of the animal has been wasted on this dude at his barbecue.Someday I’ll see a living Rainbow Scarab beetle, or a California Horntail wasp. Right?

My only glimpse so far of a Cottonwood Borer, Plectrodera scalator, in Salina, Kansas

Facebook: An Expanding Portal to Entomology

The internet has made the scientific community vastly more accessible to the general public, but social media has taken that to yet another level. Whereas it once took hours, if not days, of research to get an answer to a question, or the identification of an organism in an image, success can now be had in minutes. Facebook in particular has exploded with specialized "groups."

No matter how offbeat your entomological interest there is no doubt a Facebook group devoted to it. Are you a moth fanatic? Ha, so are over 3,300 other people who have already joined the "Mothing and Moth-watching" group.

You might worry that the membership represents a "blind leading the blind" assortment of amateurs or newbies, but most of the time there are plenty of professional entomologists and experienced citizen scientists offering help, sharing announcements of new research, or simply posting stunning images. Take the "Hymenopterists Forum," for example. I have queried this group a number of times with images of wasps, bees, or ants that I was having trouble identifying. I am always met with courtesy and respect, though I am careful not to post too much, too often.

Are your interests regional in nature? New groups continue to sprout which are regionally-centered geographically. I know because I have started four of them myself. Maybe you want to know more about dragonflies and damselflies of the southeast U.S. Voila! "Southeastern Odes" is at your service.

One of the most wonderful aspects of Facebook groups is that they usually have a global membership, and you can always stand to learn from others in far-flung locations around the world. The "Friends of Coleoptera at the Natural History Museum" group reflects beetle experts at the museum in London, England, for example, but they are incredibly friendly to everyone, and highly knowledgeable of beetles from all over the planet.

Still can't find a group that suits you? The answer is easy: create your own. Facebook makes the process of founding a group very easy and relatively intuitive. Do pay attention to the settings ("public," "closed," "secret"), and be mindful that as an administrator you will need to be vigilant to welcome new members, delete spam and its originators, and post regularly to keep your group on the Facebook radar.

I had to be metaphorically dragged into social media back in 2009, but I could not be more grateful to those who nudged (pushed?) me into it. Through Facebook I have made many new friends in the truest sense, learned more than I could have imagined, and helped others. I highly recommend taking full advantage of social media avenues in your own pursuits.