uncharismatic minifauna

@minifauna

queer cat person. 2026 edition has one working arm! Lepidoptenthusiast, gall admirer, leafminer enjoyer. rust.

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uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 16d

took an hour to get him out. we both looked like chimney sweeps and he was SO proud. photo from after midnight. I’d cleaned up & penned Otto in the bathroom while I tried to secure the fireplace. Koj decided he didn’t wanna be away from Otter - so he opened the door. next thing I know..

Otter, a brown/grey tabby, sits behind a metal fireplace screen. the area above the screen has been blocked off by large orange boxes. It’s unclear how Otto got Benin the screen without knocking over a box

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 17d

what’s your sign?

laminated sign, mounted above eye level that reads

These are orchids, not cocktails!

NO ICE CUBES!

a terrible graphic, presumably of some one dumping ice on a plant is crossed out.

a few package wrapped plants are visible, but the focus of the shot is up, towards the sign and dozens of missing ceiling tiles.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 17d

bad news: Otter REALLY loved the garden, and had to be carried inside. he wailed at every window, he scratched at every door… and then he had a genius idea

a cat’s head peeks out from inside a chimney, up above the fireplace dampener. it is filthy with soot and cobwebs. Otter’s ears stand tall and proud, and he meows with defiance

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 17d

good news: Otter loved the garden! bounced around, worked off some energy, and was well behaved on the harness (we’d practiced inside before)

Otter stands on his hind legs to scratch a deck post. He looks happy, relaxed, and in his element. a blue leash dangles loosely from his harness

Otter in the garden, tall weedy grasses in front and pittosporum hedge behind. He’s sniffing the pittosporum, with his ears airplanes back. He’s about ready to take a chomp.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 17d

I didn’t know what would happen. But Koj DEFINITELY was warning me

Koj stares out the window, looking deeply concerned

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 17d

this was my fault, if we’re being honest. I was working from home and not playing with him. so once I was done working, I decided to take him on a stroll in the garden

Otter outside the deck, sporting on a bright blue harness and leash. he’s nose to nose with Koj, who is still inside. Koj is an all black cat with golden eyes

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 17d

this is Otter who is an angel baby who never did anything wrong. except harassing his brother. and fireplace crimes.

a snoozing brown and grey tabby is wrapped in a fuzzy white blanket. one front paw is extended, pulling the blanket down

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 26d

big boi beetle! at least 2 in ≈ 6 cm bonked into at least three people at the sheet, which was really funny.. til it smacked into me California root borer (Prionus californicus), the largest insect to show up for moth week! #bugsky #buglight #coleoptera #cerambycidae

a large longhorn beetle rests on a white canvas. the beetle is shiny, dark brown to black. it's antenna spread wider than it's body, each antenna segment ends in spikes that look like tiny thorns.

a blurry picture of the beetle in flight. the hard wing covers are completely folded up, and large, clear membranois wings unfurl. the beetl's abdomen is visible

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 27d

but if I highlight alt text and hit “translate”, then I get a translation. makes perfect sense!

in-app translation tool

Detected as French:

OTD, il y a 50 ans, la sonde Viking 1 se posait sur Mars à 11h53 et prenait ce panorama exceptionnel de sa surface.
Les sondes soviétiques Mars 1 et 3 avaient déjà réussi à se poser mais
Viking 1 est le premier atterrisseur qui a réussi à fonctionner plus de quelques secondes.

English translation:

OTD, 50 years ago, the Viking 1 probe landed on Mars at 11:53 a.m. and took this exceptional panorama of its surface. The Soviet Mars 1 and 3 probes had already managed to land but Viking 1 is the first lander that managed to operate for more than a few seconds.

buttons:
copy this translation
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open in translate

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 27d

yeah no. in-app translations worked without Apple “intelligence” before I updated my phone. I’ll copy/paste it. I’ll learn French! downgrading an existing feature, unless I opt in to that? nah I’m good

post text: OTD, il y a 50 ans, la sonde Viking 1 se posait sur Mars à 11h53 et prenait ce panorama exceptionnel de sa surface. Les sondes soviétiques Mars 1 et 3 avaient déjà réussi à se poser mais Viking 1 est le premier atterrisseur qui a réussi à fonctionner plus de quelques secondes.

iPhone translate window:

Apple Intelligence Required
Translating from French to English requires Apple Intelligence

button: Turn on in settings

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 27d

I’ve read Cryptomomicon quite a few times, but never could get into Stephenson’s stuff after that!

paperback books on a white shelf
Foundation by Asimov
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr
Neuromancer by Gibson
Cryptonomicon, Snow Crash, and The Diamond Age by Stephenson

the books all show signs of age, broken spines, or dinged corners. except Snow Crash, which looks like it was used as a doorstop

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· 28d

last night’s moth sheet spot. I’m so tired, but it was so great. #teammoth #mothsmatter #lepidoptera #bugsky

view of a garden, a bit before sunset. a large white sheet and ground cloth are set up, and UV lights cast a lurid purple glow on the fabric. the garden is full of blooms. beyond the garden, tall oak trees grow. in the distance there’s hills and fog - no other lights in sight.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· Jul 4

bug feet, bug feet, quote post some bug feet

a ten lined june beetle perched on a grey leather shoe. the beetle is light brown, striped with white. its wings are still slightly unfolded

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· Jun 26

some recent not moth visitors to the bug light (h/t to @dolomedes.bsky.social for inspiring me to look at the lacewings more closely) Sympherobius barberi & Eremochrysa punctinervis (per iNat - I do NOT know lacewings) #bugsky #buglight #neuroptera #lacewings

a rather brown looking green lacewings. big shiny dark eyes stand out against a mostly white body. the wings are clear with a wide net veination.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· Jun 26

freaky Friday? we seem to have exchanged weather

Thermpro meter showing 64% humidity (22-87% range) and 21.7°C (14.1-32.9°C range).

a small brown tabby is crouched behind the meter, giving it a thoughtful sniff

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· Jun 25

these guys are pretty ungovernable. #teammoth

white lined sphinx perched on a finger. Airs chubby pink body has alternating black and white markings. a large eye is visible, and the moth is serving serious side eye

blurry shot of moth taking flight, all drama and motion. the pink and black underwings are fully extended

white lined sphinx completely covering doorbell.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· Jun 25

first sphinx moth of the year. stopped in to say hi, smacked me in the head a few times, then charged off. White lined sphinx (Hyles lineata) #teammoth #bugsky #buglight

large moth resting on a white sheet. Forewings are dark brown, cut with a tan stripe, white lines on veins. body is chunky, with a nice fuzz.

side view of moth, blurry as it flaps its wings. the corner of a ruler is behind the moth.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· Jun 21

wish this bot would/could include the nearby descriptive text! the full plant shown is rhubarb. English translation and original French included in alt text.

EXPLANATION OF FIGURES.

1 to 8, Polygonum bistorta, fig. 1, flowering axis; 2, leaf; 3, root. P. oriental, fig. 4, leaf with the ochrea. P. lapathifolium, fig. 5, open flower. P. aviculare, fig. 6, diagram. P. convolvulus, fig. 7, cross section of the seed; 8, longitudinal section of the seed.

9 to 13, Fagopyrum esculentum, fig. 9, flower; 10, longitudinal cut of the pistil; 11, fruit; 12, transverse cut of the seed; 13, embryo.

14 to 18, Rumex obtusifolus, fig. 14, flower; 15, diagram; R crispus, 16, fruit; 17, cross section of the fruit; R. hamata, 18, longitudinal cut of the fruit.

19, Rheum officinale, fig. 19, portrait.

————
Original text in French
————

EXPLICATION DES FIGURES.
1 à 8, Polygonum bistorta, fig. 1, axe florifère; 2, feuille; 3, racine. P. orientale, fig. 4, feuille avec l’ochrea. P. lapathifolium, fig. 5, fleur ouverte. P. aviculare, fig. 6, diagramme. P. convolvulus, fig. 7, section transversale de la graine; 8, section longitudinale de la graine.

9 à 13, Fagopyrum esculentum, fig. 9, fleur; 10, coupe longitudinale du pistil; 11, fruit; 12, coupe transversale de la graine; 13, embryon.

14 à 18, Rumex obtusifolus, fig. 14, fleur; 15, diagramme; R crispus, 16, fruit; 17, coupe transversale du fruit; R. hamata, 18, coupe longitudinale du fruit.

19, Rheum officinale, fig. 19, port.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· Jun 13

these are hackberry psyllid nipple galls, so that stuff absolutely should have nipple in the name somewhere.

Stem and leaves from a hackberry tree. each leaf has a few to dozens of green, hairy protruding galls. some of them are nipple shaped, others are shaped more like melted pencil erasers.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· Jun 10

heh heh heh I’m in danger

Screenshot from steam library showing Abiotic Factor with a played time of 303.5 hrs

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· Jun 7

ok, getting back to the weird little critters. Paectes (abrostolella or abrostoloides?) Lifer either way. Coastal CA, June 2026 #buglight #bugsky #teammoth #lepidoptera

side view of a brown moth with fine black lined markings, perched on a white canvas sheet. its head is down, and its butt is way up in the air. its wings are down against the sheet and don’t cover any part of the body. no antennae can be seen. one big eye is visible, giving the moth a shy, sweet appearance.

top down view of the same moth. the tip of the abdomen is visible, and looks like a broken twig.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· Jun 7

oh.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· May 29

cropped version of photo, showing area where the fly’s markings look like a little whiskered face

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· May 19

LIFER! common here, yet I’d never seen one in person. It came to the sheet as I was setting up on Sat nite. Mexican tiger moth (Apantesis proxima), coastal CA, May 2026 male, I think, based on the light underwing. #teammoth #bugsky #mothlight #lepidoptera

a small moth with wide semi geometric patterning. wide white bands divide the wings into a multitude of triangular black sections. the moth has a fuzzy cream colored head with three side black vertical.stripes.

same moth, with one wing partially extended. the underwing is partially visible, it's white with a couple black dots. a tiny bit of the abdomen is visible, it's an outlandish shade of pink

side view, showing the fuzzy thorax and the velvety texture of the wings. a long curved anntena is visible. the antenna and legs are black

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· May 15

recent visitor. very buzzy and looked like a bitey jerk. iNat suggest Winthemia sp (Tachinidae), insect parasitoid. no idea if the ID is correct, but I can confirm it’s not a biter #diptera #mothlight happy #flyday, #bugsky

view of large fly resting on canvas. large red eyes are surrounded by tight yellow bristles. Short black antennae. the body is thick and bristly each bristled black leg ends in fluffy yellow claws

slightly different angle. the fly’s eyes and head look huge. the convex thorax is visible - black with yellow vertical stripes. the abdomen is partially obscured by the wings. The end of the abdomen has a whorl of thick black hairs

side video, overexposed image of same fly. at this angle, it's clear that most of the black coloration is from hairs. the body of insect is quite light. The abdomen appears squared off due to horizontal and vertical bands of color

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· May 13

a multitude of small friends, haven’t IDed them all yet. Erythrina stem borer (Terastia meticulosalis) in pic 2. fun to see one, they’ve been on my target list for years. #mothlight #bugsky #teammoth

foreground: a white, brown and gold moth that looks like bird poop
middle: a long brown beetle with a reddish head and long antennae
back: a small dark brown moth with difficult to see patterning

back of canvas still attracts tons of critters. pictures are multiple types of moth, a couple caddisflies, etc

On the pvc stand is a Pero moth, looking like a dried up leaf.
On the canvas is a goofy moth with its butt in the air, curled up towards its head. Its abdomen resembles knobby vertebrae

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· May 13

I've been enjoying this so much, I forgot to post a picture of it set up! under 15 min for full set up. if leaving at same location, breakdown/wind safety takes 30 sec. I made it, it works - onward to less urban locations! #teammoth #mothlight #bugsky

white canvas tarp held up by PVC frame. two entoquip UV led lights dangle in front of the sheet. an abundance of insects have gathered.

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· May 12

moth sheet hasn't delivered in quantity, but it certainly has in quality. look at this magnificently fuzzy creature! Furcula (cineroides?) moth. coastal CA, May 2026 #mothlight #bugsky #teammoth #mothsmatter

top down view of a grey moth, with an incredibly fuzzy head and legs. the wings have wavy brown markings, studded with tiny orange and black dots.

3/4 view of same moth, showing the fluffy crested head, and the downy furry legs. part of an antenna is visible, and it looks like fake eyelashes

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· May 11

credit to @lepilens on IG. couldn’t get the reel to post, so here’s the work around. “As far as I’m aware, the answer to every problems is MOTHS #lepidoptera #bugsky #teammoth #mothsmatter

uncharismatic minifauna@minifauna· May 9

1st moth sheet of 2026 is going NOW! testing it right outside my door, cuz that’s all I can manage now. do you need all this to do a moth sheet? heck no. does it make it easier for me and my one working shoulder? … maybe supplies in alt text