Boomer
Christine MalecAs a blind Mastodonian who is made happy by alt text every day, I'd like to request anyone who feels inclined or able, to post and describe insects. I've really enjoyed the occasional alt text describing flying and crawling things.
Paul Magno
The Impulsive Vulcan🖖@paul_magno @ChristineMalec Go ladybugs!
...and go you, what a photo! I can see all the leaf capillaries.
mike805@ChristineMalec Well ok, I saw what looked like a spider but it only had six legs. However it had two things up front like feelers or paws or something. That got me curious so I looked it up. Some spiders have apparently evolved so their front pair of legs is used more like hands for holding prey, and they only walk on six of them.
@mike805 Eek, Oo, thanks,...! that's not creepy!
@ChristineMalec just saw some sort of shiny black beetle type thing, but with long wiggling antennas like a roach. I think it was some type of roach.
There is an area near a storm drain cover that is infested with normal cockroaches. Big ones, the size of your thumb.
And the spiders like to make webs between street signs and the trees and bushes on the opposite side of the sidewalk. Then I do the chicken dance after walking through one, expecting a large spider to be crawling on me.
itgrrl 
is looking to #GetFediHired!@mike805 @ChristineMalec I’ve heard that dance described as an “arachnoleptic fit”… 🙃
Gigi 🍄🟫@itgrrl @mike805 @ChristineMalec
Oh this is a good name!
Why/how the hell do spiders manage to build webs at exactly FACE HEIGHT?
Face spiders always trigger that dance.
@Gigi @itgrrl @ChristineMalec I want to know how they string a web across the street at that height. They must anchor the web on the sign, rappel down, walk across the sidewalk, climb up a tree, and then reel in the strand (they eat it and reuse the material) and attach the taut strand on the other end.
Once they get a strand, they climb out on it and start to build. It takes a lot of engineering to build a suspension bridge, but a spiderweb is just as complex. How do they do that?
@mike805 @itgrrl @ChristineMalec
I don't know!
Are they just hanging out waiting for a really strong wind that *happens* to be blowing in the right direction?
I feel like I'm better off not knowing.
Schafstelze 🎗🖤@ChristineMalec @mike805 some mammals did the same, they evolved and use their front legs for other stuff than walking 😉
cally🇧🇷😺
Max, overwintering bug@mike805 Also some spiders use their front legs to mimic ant's antennae. Coupled wit morphological adaptations, they make very convincing ants.
If you remember your spider I would be very curious to know the name or see it btw :)
@ChristineMalec
If you remember your spider I would be very curious to know the name or see it btw :)
@ChristineMalec
Mona⁷@ChristineMalec Here's a Philippine leaf beetle (Aplosonyx philippinensis) on a leaf full of holes. The beetle is about half an inch long, has an orange head and limbs, and a beautiful, rounded, metallic green-blue body. It makes holes in the leaves as it eats them. Usually people spray soapy water on their plants to deter these beetles.
Ingrid Murray (she/her)@pixiecata @ChristineMalec Oh, it's beautiful!
`Da Elf@ChristineMalec Butterfly..
Larissa@ChristineMalec I went to a place called Butterfly Creek with my family a couple of weeks ago.
@ChristineMalec Bah ! Upload fail.
I will describe the butterfly tomorrow.
@ChristineMalec Actually it occurs to me I don't have to upload the photo.
I'm used to Monarch butterflies that are about the sundown of you hand probably.
They are Typically "orange" which I would describe as warming your face in the sun. This one is mostly black and yellow and I would describe it as warming your face in the moon.
Siderea, Sibylla BostoniensisHOLY HYMENOPTERA, @futurebird! THE BUG SIGNAL!
@ChristineMalec, I hope you like ants. I hope you like ants a lot.
Sci-Fi GirlI'll recommend my favorite recent posting from @futurebird, it's a short fiction about insects! (A sci-fi ish story!)
myrmepropagandist (@[email protected])
In the carpark near the beach in CT I discovered a group of isopods up to no good. The pill bugs had formed a pentagram of beach trash, mostly delicate bones of birds & fish. It was about the size of a quarter. They kept adjusting it and adding to it as I watched, horrified, yet fascinated. I was so engrossed in the mysterious antics of the little woodlice that I didn't even notice the man who'd joined me watching, until he spoke. "Amazing aren't they?" He said, his voice deep, but warm. 1/18
Kathy Chandler 🌻@ChristineMalec Check out @frankashwood if you're not already following. Posts great photos with alt text.
@ChristineMalec Has anybody explained silkworms to you?
I used to think that at least silk came from bugs so I didn't have to feel bad that it was a fatal process for the bugs. And then I discovered the adult form of the silkworm, which is not a worm but a caterpillar, is basically a plushie of a moth. The Bombyx mori (that's its scientific name) is like what you would get if you told a seamstress you wanted the cutest possible stuffed moth to give a child.
It's white. Its plump body is completely covered with soft fluffy fur. It's wings, which are both covered in fur and translucent, like flocked gauze, are delicately veined and gracefully curved like fairy wings, and are shorter than its big, plump, fuzzy butt. It has two glorious feather-like antennae, which are black and curved down on either side of its head like ears on a hound, making it look slightly sad, framing its little triangle face and its two huge luminous black eyes. It's face resembles that of baby Yoda.
@ChristineMalec
The way it often holds its two front legs against its body, make it look like it's clasping its hands apologetically.
It may be the cutest organism to ever exist. It's hard not to want to hug it.
JonathanThis thread really needs a picture (there's alt text ofc) too :)
Recurver 🎯Sorry not an insect but a pair of Australian Tawny Frogmouths (birds).
Most people think they are a type of owl but they aren't. They're just very chill birds that will let you get quite close if they're above your head...
J S VilliersHere's a couple of my insect photos from a sunny week in Herefordshire a couple of months ago:
https://mastodonapp.uk/@jsvilliers/110469710383620147
J S Villiers (@[email protected])
Attached: 1 image Damselfly in the grass, enjoying a sunny afternoon. #Nature #NaturePhotography #Photography #Wildlife #Animals #WildlifePhotography #Insects #Insect #Sunshine #Damselfly #Countryside
osmanthus
Haru春 || Genna
Francisca Staines@ChristineMalec
From my garden last summer, a bumblebee resting on a yellow dahlia.
From my garden last summer, a bumblebee resting on a yellow dahlia.
Bruno Philipe@ChristineMalec I'd recommend checking out @loren as a reliable source of alt-texted bugs and critters
anomalocaris
anomalocaris (@[email protected])
Attached: 4 images Bugs & beasts! Here's some arthropods I ran into near our research station Sabah, Borneo a few years back. #insects #spiders #beetles #millipedes #malaysia #borneo
Nearly Normal (=>÷)@ChristineMalec do you like worms? I breed these for my garden. Here they are. Wriggling around eating kitchen scraps. There's a bit of pasta, some greens and a bit of tofu. Worms of course are vegans.
AmiW Streetart ❄️@ChristineMalec Insects AltTexts I would also read without being blind.
Jonnosan@ChristineMalec this is a type of dragonfly called a sapphire rockmaster , from the rainforest of northern NSW. It has a shiny black blobby head, and a long angular body and 4 wings that are fully spread out, even though it is perched on a twig.
gingeridot@jonnosan @ChristineMalec oh what a beautiful little beast! I'm not sure if I've ever seen a dragonfly with this nice light blue or turquoise color along its torso
Emeritus Prof Christopher MaySlowly creeping across the body politic the Farage-bug, infects everything it touches with mendacity, slowly eating up goodwill & good faith while all the time becoming fatter & more self-satisfied.... its life ending only when starved of the oxygen the #media provide.....
Dave@ChristineMalec I am now curious how an elaborate description of an insect photo that would make most sighted people squirm would make you feel. 
(No need to actually answer that, I'm just stating my curiosity.)
(No need to actually answer that, I'm just stating my curiosity.)
Alex von Kitchen@ChristineMalec not sure if it's great, but I had a go (moth photo in case that bothers anyone)
BensGreenGamingAc
Dzso@ChristineMalec As someone who is terrible at describing visual things, it would be amazing if there was an easy way to have an AI generate a verbose description of photos I post.
just Naomi 🏳️⚧️@ChristineMalec
I'll see what suitable pics I've got!
I'll see what suitable pics I've got!
Gavin@ChristineMalec here's one of a drunken bumble bee I took a while back. Just after I took the photo he appeared to fall asleep for 30 mins or so before staggering around then flying off.
ubi@ChristineMalec Here's a star worm, the larva of the beetle family Rhagophthalmidae. It's a bioluminescent beetle closely related to fireflies.
Thibaultmol 🌈@ChristineMalec
I hope at some point that Mastodon has a future where you can suggest alt text. (Some people don't write good alt text's. So it'd be nice if someone could improve it. And then the original poster can just 'accept' the changes
I hope at some point that Mastodon has a future where you can suggest alt text. (Some people don't write good alt text's. So it'd be nice if someone could improve it. And then the original poster can just 'accept' the changes
Sarah E Bourne@thibaultmol @ChristineMalec Meanwhile, there are the #alt4me ("please describe") and #alt4you ("here's a description") hashtags for people to contribute.
AdeptVeritatis@alexwild is a great source of nice insects photos and other interesting stuff.
Deven Phillips@ChristineMalec I have sent this post to an on-line friend who is an Entomologist. Here's hoping that you'll have some nice descriptions soon.
Yes, *that* dawn person
C.T. McGinnis@ChristineMalec Here is a link to my post today of a photo I took of a hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum).
C.T. McGinnis (@[email protected])
Attached: 1 image I was really happy to see this hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) on our little walk yesterday along the Leça river. Not the best quality photo but the best I could do.😃
Bob McWhirter
Douglas @revdjenk Jenkins@ChristineMalec
STOP! You're bugging me!!!
STOP! You're bugging me!!!
Wahaka@ChristineMalec honeybees are comically small balls of fuzz with wings too small for their bodies. With yellow and black stripes and big black eyes, they kind of bounce their way around when they’re not sleeping in flowers (and holding each others feet)
Ґрeйсі Джейн 🏳️⚧️ (Quuxum)
Chozari 賈 (she/her)@ChristineMalec I will certainly try to remember this and will follow you so that I’m reminded to. I love any sort of bug or bird… or just any critter at all.
bobchauvinmyrmepropagandist (@[email protected])
In the carpark near the beach in CT I discovered a group of isopods up to no good. The pill bugs had formed a pentagram of beach trash, mostly delicate bones of birds & fish. It was about the size of a quarter. They kept adjusting it and adding to it as I watched, horrified, yet fascinated. I was so engrossed in the mysterious antics of the little woodlice that I didn't even notice the man who'd joined me watching, until he spoke. "Amazing aren't they?" He said, his voice deep, but warm. 1/18
@ChristineMalec I do my best at describing them and the features I think are relevant/cool, but I also always take questions. If you feel like you would need more description on ANY (and I mean any) insect picture I post, please let me know.
Clinton Anderson SwordForHire@ChristineMalec Can I ask?
How important, or helpful, are #CamelCaseHashTags as opposed to hash tags that are not camel cased?
I've been told they work much better with screen readers, but I'm guessing your use case is far more applicable to them than mine, eh
Cheers!