Ask the Inverter
Dear Bugeyed Bernie,
You describe inverting as “The joy of observing insects”. Can you elaborate further?
- The Greatest Show on Earth.
Dear Greatest Show on Earth. You are right; I do describe inverting as "the joy of observing insects," and yes, I can explain what that means for me and what I think it can mean for others like yourself who follow their curiosity.
There is a saying about 'swimming in the shallow end of the pool'. I am not a great swimmer, yet I enjoy water in a pool, a pond, a lake, even the ocean; be it getting my feet wet, walking in waist deep watching fish swim at my feet, immersing beneath the surface imaging myself as a fish, or sitting on shore admiring the beauty of the waters behavior at that moment, how the surrounding habitat - the tall grasses, dunes, trees, shrubs nearby, the sun across the waters surface, how the wind plays with the water - waves, ripples, tidal pools.
Inverting is like entering the ocean of the insect world. This is an immense body. One can enter into the shallow end and be fulfilled there or walk in deeper and deeper to whatever level you wish to explore, learn about, and enjoy - there are no boundaries.
Think of going to a zoo with no bars. The animals are all in their natural habitat. You can walk up to any of them - if you are careful, slowly approach, and are respectful - look at them closely, take photos of them, and with repeated exposure to them, begin to understand their lifestyle, the habitat requirements needed for them to thrive; you might notice some that no one has reported seeing in your state. Spend enough time there, and you will witness predation, copulation (hugging too), birth, accidents (falling, bumping into plants), and generational development (life stages, metamorphosis). For this is a zoo not of large animals like lions, tigers, and bears - Oh My - this is a habitat filled with countless, and I do mean countless, invertebrates, particularly insects, and you are now inverting.
At first, most of the animals seem difficult to find. They are small, and they often fly or race away as soon as you spot them. Remember, you were not able to pet the first giraffe you viewed in the no bars zoo, but as you were patient, cautious, slow in your approach, and respectful, you eventually were able to be close enough to pet the giraffe, and maybe you did pet one at least once.
So it was with the first bumblebee I ever petted. It took many outings, thousands of bee observations, with as many expressions of thanks expressing my gratitude for each individual, all being industrious, hard at work to maintain their species, their families, before I found the courage, knowledge (male Bumblebees do not have stingers), and gentle touch (respect) to approach (without disturbing) and pet a bumblebee.
Note that the way a bee can show it is being stressed by your approach is to raise one of its legs; raising two legs means it is in greater distress, rolling on its back indicates very high stress, buzzing around your head - well, you can figure that one out - "leave me be, I have work to do".
Once you become accustomed to ‘seeing’ insects, you start to wonder how you ever missed them. And where can you find them? As close as just outside your home door - in your yard, especially if you have a habitat that supports their life needs.
I could talk for hours about the awe-inspiring observations and the enompanying feelings that have overcome me from observing a multitude of insect behaviors, body patterns and colors, surprises, discoveries, and more that the insect world provided me and awaits you - what Alice found and experienced when she went down the rabbit hole is minuscule compared to inverting in the natural wild world. If insects were the size of animals we typically view in a zoo, we would all be walking around (in our yards, parks, woodlands, fields) with our jaws gaping open and touching the ground - in wonder and awe.
When I am inverting, be it in our 1-acre yard, or a local park, in a meadow, woodlands, or waters edge, I quickly drop all the to-do list, the distractions, the bouncing balls of thoughts, the worldly problems, and any of my personal concerns - everything else - goes away. I become, as they say, ‘in the moment’ - not by some forced mantra, or conscious decision - it just happens as though I walk through a transformation door as Alice did in her wonderland.
Disclaimer: Though I greatly admire folks who have the aptitude and attitude to learn and remember galaxies of data about a particular insect family, the myriad details differentiating one species from another, I am not that person. Call it staying on shore or in the shallow end of the ocean if you will. Remember, there is an immense ocean in the insect world. Pick your spot, and dive into whatever depth you wish to explore.
Knowing can be rewarding. Not knowing it all, and being curious to find out for oneself, and to experience that discovery is fulfilling, even addictive. For me, it is all fresh and new with every outing, every walk, every observation, be it a common taxonomy or an uncommon one. I never tire of meeting up with my diverse set of insect friends, being with them, and learning about them. The experience is the circus top - for me.
I don’t consume cakes, drinks, or mushrooms to change my size - to shrink down to a size small enough to pass through the tiny insect door into the garden of insects. I do take photographs of them and enlarge that view (see Bernie’s Favorites).
Viewing the photos on my computer allows me first to revisit each moment in the wild with each individual I observed and to recall what that felt like to me, what was going on with that individual. The enlarged (cropped) image highlights the details of the insect’s anatomy, its body, which opens up another layer of inverting in wonderland. The details are often exquisite, beautiful sometimes, spooky other times (glad I am not a host insect when dragonflies are zooming about).
The diversity begins to alert you, though inverting is in many ways like birding; there are many, many, many times more insect species than there are bird species. One could observe all or nearly all of the bird species in Vermont with a bit of diligence within a few years. To observe all of the insects in your lifetime, well, you'd better live a very long time, and you'd better plan on spending every minute of your life looking for and at insects, because there are likely over 20,000 species of invertebrates in Vermont, with over 1,300 insect species catalogued.
Inverting is the new birding!
If you are into treasure hunts, try inverting. In our backyard alone, I have observed and recorded on iNaturalist thirty or so insect species that had not been previously recorded on iNaturalist. I even observed and recorded the first (iNaturalist record) observation of a mock orange scissor bee (Chelostoma philadelphi).
Which brings me to iNaturalist. iNaturalist is a popular, free online social network and mobile application designed to help people identify, document, and share observations of plants, animals, and fungi from around the world. It acts as a community-driven database where users take photos or recordings of wild organisms to contribute to science and conservation efforts.
This tool, like inverting, has many different levels of opportunity. You can use it as an incentive to get outdoors, to notice more, and to learn about the life forms that we share this planet with. You can use it as your personal journal to record your observations, and to share those observations with others, including scientist who may use some of your observations in their scientific studies.
Just as people can dive into inverting at many different levels, so to many people use iNaturalist for multiple purposes, including:
Identification and Taxonomy
Learning how an organism fits into biological classification:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
Learning About Insect Life
Once identified, you can explore:
- Behavior
- Host plants
- Nesting or habitat preferences
- Seasonal activity
- Ecological role
- Life history
Building a Personal Nature Journal
iNaturalist creates a searchable digital record of your observations over time.
- Contributing to Scientific Research
- Your records may support:
- Biodiversity mapping
- Range expansions
- Climate-related distribution changes
- Pollinator monitoring
- Conservation projects
- Your observations, like some of mine, may become part of scientific research papers.
Exploring Biodiversity
You can examine observations from:
- Your backyard
- Your town
- Vermont
- Other regions worldwide
Improving Identification Skills
Watching how experts revise or refine IDs is one of the best ways to learn.
You may begin noticing details such as:
- Wing venation
- Antenna shape
- Facial markings
- Leg structure
- Host plant association
- Geographic range
Community Engagement
iNaturalist allows you to:
- Join projects
- Participate in BioBlitz events
- Connect with specialists
- Compare findings with other observers
- And perhaps most importantly:
- Have Fun
- For many people, iNaturalist transforms a simple walk outdoors into a process of discovery.
Yes indeed, inverting is The Greatest Show on Earth - and as close as your backyard!
- BugeyedBernie,
Public Relations mgr. for Insects; Promoting the joy of observing Insects
