Hibiscus harlequin nymph (Tectocoris diophthalmus).

Coastal peacock spider (Maratus speciosus).

Probably my favourite butterfly I’ve been fortunate enough to see in the wild, a blue morpho (Morpho helenor).

Ladybird spider (Eresus sandaliatus).

Eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). Not a fan of this one at all but ya girl tried.

New hair calls for co-ordinating makeup... cuckoo wasp (Chrysura laevigata).

Thrilled that my first post of 2021 is this beautiful Spanish moth (Xanthopastis timais), whose larval form is known as the ‘convict caterpillar’ due to their distinctive black and white stripes. Always a fan of any orange and pink combo (those who’ve seen my hair already know this) and that little love heart marking? Too precious, I couldn’t resist 🧡

Bit of a manic day today so had to do this one on-the-go (literally sat in my car)! This strange little beast (Cladonota apicalis) belongs to the treehopper family Membracidae, which are found in all continents across the world except Antarctica.

Surprised it’s taken me this long to recreate a phasmid! Madagascan stick insect (Achrioptera fallax).

Bolivian dwarf beauty (Cyriocosmus perezmilesi) - proof that a bug doesn’t have to be super bright and colourful to be a lil cutie.

Another miss... ironic, given its name 🥵 golden target tortoise beetle (Ischnocodia annulus).

Indian lily moth (Polytela gloriosae).

Jewel beetle (Chrysochroa fulgidissima).

Madagascan sunset moth (Chrysiridia rhipheus).

Listed on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered, the gooty sapphire ornamental (Poecilotheria metallica) is one of the most beautiful tarantulas you can find and considered a bit of a staple display species amongst spider hobbyists. Do you have one?

Known for being aggressive, having insanely painful stings and generally just being utter b*stards, meet the bull ant (Myrmecia brevinoda).

Shield-backed jewel bug (Poecilocoris druraei).

It’s kinda funny to me that some of my favourite makeup looks so far have been those that I did on days I felt tired, sad and/or uninspired and just wanted to get something quick or basic on my face so I could go run errands. This precious and colourful little beast is an elephant hawk moth (Deilephila elpenor), one of my personal favourite leps and a native to the UK, though I’m yet to see one myself! It’s actually quite a significant species in the animal kingdom as it was one of the first in which nocturnal colour vision was documented, which is thought to be particularly well-developed since it uses up so much of its energy hovering to collect nectar at night.

Today’s makeup is a bit of a tribute to my giant African mantis (Sphodromantis viridis), who was the first ever invert I brought home with me and is probably my favourite mantis I’ve ever kept. Today when I woke up and checked on him I knew he didn’t have long left. He lived to be a bit of an old man so I’m trying not to feel sad but anybody who knows me personally will know how much that little monster means to me.

Blue glaucus (Glaucus atlanticus) - fascinating little creatures that actually float upside down using the surface tension of the water to stay up.

Rosy maple moth (Dryocampa rubicunda).

Giant rainforest mantis (Hierodula majuscula).

Pink chromodoris (Chromodoris bullocki).

Bhutan glory (Bhutanitis lidderdalii).

Giant Amazon dung beetle (Coprophanaeus lancifer)

For today I decided to go with @coxjamee’s suggestion of a huntsman spider (Heteropoda lunula) because I couldn’t resist those beautiful blue and purple tones.

Lipstick skipper (Haemactis sanguinalis).

Here’s one I’ve been meaning to do for a really, really long time. The Brazilian jewel (Typhochlaena seladonia), arguably one of the most beautiful arthropods out there.

Decided to go for a species that is a little less remarkable and often overlooked - the silverfish (Lepisma saccharina), an apterous (wingless) insect often found in many homes across the world.

One of my favourite mantids and one I hope to add to my collection soon, the spiny flower mantis (Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii).

Had an overwhelming amount of support from the @entomemeology community today so I just want to say hello (and thank you!) to my new followers! Today’s is just a super quick one as I’ve spent most my day researching all the amazing suggestions I’ve been given, this being one of them: the jewel scarab beetle (Chrysina spectabilis).

The blushing phantom (Cithaerias pireta) belongs to the largest family of butterflies, Nymphalidae, which boasts an estimated 6,000 known species. Amazingly, brush-footed butterflies still only account for around 3.75% of all Lepidopterans!

Spanish dancer (Hexabranchus sanguineus).

I asked what people wanted to see in my IG story and was pretty surprised so many of you picked to see a spider look! So here it is, Birupes simoroxigorum, one of my favourite colour combos yet I think.

Peacock silkmoth (Automeris amanda) - this cutie belongs to the Saturniidae family, which contains some of the largest and arguably most beautiful moths in the world. There are an estimated 2,300 species of Saturniid, with 124 of those belonging to the Automeris genus alone!

Suraka silk moth (Antherina suraka).

Okay okay so I know this isn’t a bug, but other arthropods still count right?! It only seems right to pay homage to the Halloween crab (Gecarcinus quadratus) on today, the spookiest of all days 🎃