Whenever I’ve gone group camping, people have figured out that I am a super bug attractor (especially mosquitoes).
“Bob, would you please stand over there, opposite the group? Thanks.”
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My younger daughter got upset with me when she figured out that’s why she always got to lead…
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I’d say its when you stop bothering to jump into a normal person position 
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…when you get as emotionally involved in the iNaturalist Community Forum as you used to in your social media feed.
…and then the same thing starts to happen with comment threads on iNaturalist itself.
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… you see yet another new question in the forum asking whether something should be marked captive/cultivated or not, just like the last 100 times before that.
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Does it make you more or less into iNat?.)
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…when looking out your backdoor really does seem as exciting as John Fogerty’s.
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When we first bought our house in the woods, we spent a lot of time glued to the windows. Really slowed down the first couple weeks of work! We refer to it as watching the Outdoor channel.
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That happened to me today! I saw a Masked Hunter for the first time and I didn’t have my camera on me! The cool thing about these bugs is that in their nymph form, they cover themselves in lint and dust for camouflage. They look like walking dust bunnies.
Here’s what they look like:
https://static.inaturalist.org/photos/82269748/large.jpg
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… a bug is crawling on you inside your home, but instead of smacking it off, you find a container, stun it in the freezer, make an observation, and reluctantly tell your spouse about it in the morning.
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Was the bug not cooperating at first?
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It was moving too quickly for me to get any zoomed-in photos that were not blurred.
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I did not know one could do that. I will have to try it! How long do you think is too long for a bug to be in the freezer?
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Hopefully someone else comments on this with more details. It’s easy to overdo it and harm the insect, but if done right, they thaw within 5 minutes. I waited maybe 2 minutes with that observation?
I was inspired to try that after seeing @teellbee’s comment here in another topic.
I think this is also why insects sometimes look wet in some observations. It’s not that observers carry around tiny spray bottles to glamorize their observations, but that water vapor from the air starts condensing on them just like it does on a cold glass of water.
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It depends on how large and “solid” the bug is. For a small delicate bug, even a minute may be too much time in a freezer. Sometimes the fridge is enough chilling for the delicate ones.
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I am taking the liberty of re-posting @teellbee’s excellent suggestion:
“To avoid over doing it in the freezer, I often use ice packs (meant for keeping picnic food cold or for treating bruises or aches). I set the ice pack under a saucer or jar lid, add the ant, and then cover it with another jar lid (in my case, one with a clear lens). I watch the insect to see when it stills, then remove the lid and start taking pictures.”
“When I’m done with my pics, I turn the ant out onto the patio, where it revives in a minute or two, and resumes its business.”
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D’oh! Of course! I was trying to figure out why so many stacked processing macro bug shots I see are always covered in ‘dew drops’. I was starting to formulate that there was some kind of strange relationship between bug-macro shooters and an obsession with the Dirty Dancing movies, but this makes much more sense!
Thanks!
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Actually many do add sprayed water, lots of macro shots are artificial.
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I was skeptical at first, but you’re right! Found these 6 Hacks for Macro Photography, one of which is to spray subject with water.
You know you’re seriously into iNat when … you take the time to figure out why the subject in some observations is wet.
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But what happens when you spot a 'lifer’in the exercise phase? (Is that the ‘ish’ qualifier?)
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