Depending on the species, it's definitely not too bad. Crickets are awful even when there aren't that many of them.

I don't know how they roach in China but I and everyone else I know that raise roaches do it in big Rubbermaid bins.

*entomologist?

#notallroaches

Earwigs are amazing parents, not that it makes any difference :)

Right?! My old stomping grounds were DC metro area too, so I don't know if they pull that shit in random high schools all over the place or if they think DC youth are just that much gayer than in other cities. Maybe they target supposedly high-income areas just in case anything lawsuit-worthy should happen.

I'm not sure what the point of picketing high schools is—maybe teenagers are less inhibited and more likely to chuck a brick and get sued?—but WBC picketed my old HS, which had a vibrant arts program. I still don't think we would have gotten half the graduating class to demonstrate on behalf of the GSA (or any human…

I don't have the expertise that others do on here, but if I were in your situation I would say something open-ended, to the effect of "I'm here if you need support or to talk about anything" rather than bringing it up directly. I don't know if that's the right way to go about it, but that's all I can think of to do.

Oh for fuck's sake. At least do a preventative googling on that shit before hitting publish.

Um, y'all know that peacock tail feathers fall out naturally when breeding season is over, right?

Oh man. This post gives me so much hope.

The original book that inspired the Shrek movies was awesome on this too; no rewriting necessary.

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is one of my favorite Cinderella-esque tales if not #1. So glad someone else remembers it!

I love this. As a bug nerd, we need more people who respect life in all its forms. I will say, though, since the anti-mosquito and anti-stinkbug folks already came out, invasive species are probably fair game. Greater good and all.

All tarantulas have some kind of venom, like mrsfinch said (there is only one family of spiders that is nonvenomous, and they're not at all diverse), and there are no confirmed deaths-by-tarantula in existence, so none are deadly (otherwise the comment is spot on). I do actually study spiders for a living, but it's…

That isn't a "Socotra Island Blue Baboon," which is a common name for Monocentropus balfouri. The spider in the picture is a Poecilotheria metallica, which has the common name "Gooty Sapphire Ornamental," I think. Both species are quite nice-looking and will run you upwards of $400 for an adult female.

An excess of bloodworms can be an indicator for really awful water quality, as they tolerate conditions unsuitable for most other aquatic insects. I doubt worms in the water is the only issue...