I've been noticing this week that the internet seems to have become the victim of an insect photography awesomeness epidemic. Don't quite know if that's just a coincidence, or some entomological trend of which I am not aware, but who cares?Let's add to the madness with a bunch of amazing shots:
And in case you're not sure what constitutes an insect, here is an amusing definition I found in Robert Krulwich's recent story, Linnaeus, Shlinnaeus!:
Oh, I can hear you junior-high-school science teachers out there now… shouting "Wait a minute! Spiders aren't insects! Spiders are arachnids!" That's exactly what's wrong with our junior high schools today…Of course spiders are insects. The very word "insect" is a combination of two ancient Greek words: "in," meaning "a," and "sect," meaning "repulsive little creature." Thus not only are spiders insects but so are crabs, jellyfish, the late Truman Capote, bats, clams, olives and those unfortunate little dogs, "pugs" …..
(Excerpted from "Electro-Maggots," Dave Barry's Greatest Hits)