What's your least favorite taxa to see while iNatting?

We all have favorites, but on the other hand some taxa are particularly annoying: take mosquitoes for example. Does anyone have a least favorite taxa to see while you’re out making observations?

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All the curled up millipedes under logs and rocks that look like snails at a first glance. Always get disappointed by those.

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Mosses, you spend half a day on one thing for it never be identified.
Would take mosquitoes instead, love those guys, need more species.

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Humans mostly. I like to feel alone outdoors and not have to worry about if I look weird or have a stick in my hair or something.

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Ticks

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Cleg / Deer Flies. Nasty little suckers (literally), with psychedelic eyes. By the time I see them, it’s usually too late

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+1 for Homo sapiens, especially the juveniles, especially if they’ve aware that they’re being observed and exhibit behaviours designed to increase peer standing.

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Reynoutria japonica, Japanese knotweed. Nobody likes to see a hyper-invasive plant when they’re iNatting, but with knotweed I’m also worried about spreading little root fragments on my shoes and starting a new unkillable knotweed clump somewhere else.

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horseflies and humans

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Robinia pseudoacacia and Ailanthus altissima: these invasive trees are absolutely everywhere in my country, even in remote places with little to no human disturbance. They’re a very conspicuous reminder of how compromised local habitats are.

Rubus ulmifolius: an annoying obstacle in my explorations.

Homo sapiens: same as above but 100 times as much.

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The obvious winner here is Homo sapiens but other than that it has to be the tropical fire ant; Solenopsis geminata. Invasive in my area and most of the Southeastern U.S. and a literal pain. Stand in one spot too long and you’re suddenly swarmed. They’re stings don’t hurt too bad individually but 50 of them? Ouch.

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Chiggers. Nothing itches worse than a chigger bite, and you don’t realize you’ve encountered any until it’s too late.

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Yeah but the question was which ones do you least want to see! :rofl:

I’m the same…I have unfortunately never seen a chigger before they’ve gotten me and never know about them until 2 days later when it is too late to do anything unfortunately. They are the worst, so I almost wish I could see them just so I could get the heck out of there!

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Ticks, definitely. I get sad when I see invasive stuff but I try to see it as an opportunity to document how bad something is. I’m not crazy about seeing humans, or humans seeing me, though I am a fan of a good funny manmade object/not harmful human evidence. Like a funny sign or something.

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Cockroaches. I turned a corner today in a building that I know they inhabit, but honestly, to see one looking at me always makes me shudder.

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The taxa that have overlapping characteristics in the dichotomous keys with the specimen you are trying to identify falling right smack in the intersection (Ludwigia, I am talking about you)

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Snakes and dead animals. I am not a big fan of snakes and also seeing dead creatures makes me kind of sad.

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Asian lady beetles. I have more observations of them than the next 3 most observed species for me combined. They get in my house and I try not to photograph them unless theres absolutely nothing else around to photograph haha.

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Argentine Ants (because I know that I’m unlikely to see any native ants there) and any tax that I know is unidentifiable from pics).

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Squished slugs and snails on the sidewalk, and any invasive species, like Himalayan blackberry, scotch broom, chocolate arion, Asian lady beetles, etc.

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