Just a Girl And Her Bugs

10/02/2023

In honor of Halloween coming up, let’s have some fun!

💀Copy and Paste then change what the skeleton is holding in the comments below!

I will post a clean copy of the skeleton in the comments!

💀
|{I}\_🎃
I/ \
/_ \_

09/29/2023

It’s FRIENDSDAY FRIDAY here at Just a Girl And Her Bugs!
Let’s celebrate those who always have our back, even when we aren’t around!
Tag that friend (or friends if you’re so blessed) that always has your back in the comments below!

09/25/2023

Hello all! Good afternoon!

I currently have i2 & i3 Phidippus audax that will be available in the coming months. I also have a fresh clutch hatching today!

Please comment below if you’d like to be added to the wait list!

I am located in East Tennessee and I do ship anywhere within the US.

09/25/2023

About go get my butt in bed for work but just wanted to say that sometimes you meet people for a reason and I am glad to have connected with spooder ink. We share a love for jumping spiders and art as well as other things and I am so glad to have met someone else in the jumper hobby community who ‘gets it’. She isn’t the only one in the hobby I have connected with but through our conversations, I definitely feel a bond forming. ☺️

09/22/2023

Got a new baby coming from spooder ink next week!! Can’t wait to meet her!! How cute is she?!?! Ugh! Ima explode with all that cuteness!! Eeeekkk!!

09/20/2023

Want to win your own jumping spider tie dye shirt from Just a Girl And Her Bugs?
Join the group (Just a Girl And Her Bugs) and you can find the post in the featured posts of the group! These are going for $50 so for just $2 you’d be getting a heck of deal!

***
This is a Just a Girl And Her Bugs exclusive copyrighted shirt design. Attempting to recreate it without written permission is prohibited.
***

09/18/2023

📢 You will never be criticized by someone who is doing more than you. You will only be criticized by someone doing less...

👉 Read that again 👆👆

Grateful for all my supporters! You keep me going and helping me stay motivated! 🙏🏻

09/17/2023

We have a winner for the logo voting!
Thank you and everyone else for taking part in the vote!

I will be creating a new page profile photo using this new logo!

09/14/2023

*** EDITED AGAIN!! I had the idea of combining the idea of the wings and the bugs SO I did what I could and came up with TWO more options!!!

**** Edited to add a third option because my husband Christopher Hodges made a suggestion and I really like it!

Happy Thursday bug lovers!

I thought it was about time I created a logo but I can’t decide which I like more of the two below!

Since I can’t decide, I am leaving it up to YOU!!
Whichever photo gets the most reactions AND comments (I will add them together) will be the logo I go with! You can comment as many time as you like on the logo you want to win. Tag your friends to increase the votes on your favorite!

I will count up comments and reactions at 12pm EST this Sunday!

09/11/2023

Happy Monday bug lovers!!
I realize I have not been all that active on the page! I do apologize for that! I am far more active in the group 👉 Just a Girl And Her Bugs and will work at being more active on the page!

There’s so many bugs to introduce to everyone!!
Stay tuned as all the introductions will be coming soon!

This is Caroline! She is one of the newest members of my bug friends. More about her to come in her introduction post!

New bugs coming soon also!!

09/02/2023

Please share to help my niece earn points! ❤️🥰

https://www.schoolstore.com/cgi/SSCEmailLanding?&FB=1-0000359353-5421224-999&fbclid=IwAR2bq59cvioCYY40ePHXSoL41mXC_mSUwSd0ro0JnIpIVj6Mr_XPtTar3wI_aem_AXxIP6ylbN2_WAOYTDcJT2WHvZGtnn6QN3CVqrhmTIGdMnYKJOJdvf5TAk0M8EbBOkU&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Schoolstore is a school and classroom fundraising site that helps support our school and classroom teachers. Shop to benefit our school or make a direct donation to the classroom teacher of your favorite student.

08/30/2023

Little Hitch is starting the journey to his/her new home today!

Good luck Hitch! Safe travels!

08/27/2023

Just saw this post spreading worry among the masses! Do NOT believe it!!!!!

I have gotten this alert before and just fully close the app and guess what?! NOTHING HAPPENS! You don’t need to do anything special other than don’t click on anything. Don’t waste time deleting and reinstalling apps on your phone. Just don’t click the links. It’s that simple. 🤷‍♀️

08/25/2023

For anyone interested, I have an auction going in my bug lovers group for this cutie and it comes with this enclosure! It is a juvenile Phidippus audax that was wild caught only because it was in a bad spot and wasn’t thriving being wild. It’s abdomen was not looking good before it got some fruit flies and water from me. I do not normally rehome wild caught but this guy is different and I just want it to have the best chance at survival.

My group is Just a Girl And Her Bugs if you would like to join and participate in the auction or any other of the bug adventures and information in the group.

08/24/2023

The Thatcher Effect.
This illusion highlights a flaw in how our brains work - we can't process an upside-down face because we are programmed to recognise faces the right way up.
We create a mental map by recognising the face in pieces - eyes, mouth, and nose.
So when we're presented with an upside-down, Thatcherised image, it's not processed properly.
We know it's upside down, but because we so rarely encounter upside-down faces, we haven't evolved to interpret the expressions on them.
The facial features look fine, so our brains assume the rest of the face is as well.
That's why we don't see anything out of the ordinary until we turn the face the ‘right way’ up.

And now you may have just learned something new about how your brain works too! Happy learning! You never know everything!

08/23/2023

In case anyone needed the ’go ahead’ - you’re welcome. 👻🕷️🎃💀🧙‍♀️

08/22/2023

How cute is this little one?! And will you just look at those markings?! Not sure if they will stay unique like this or if they will become normal P. audax markings after it moults again.
Want to help name it?!
Join my group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/1364438604507115/?ref=share_group_link ) and then vote for a name in the poll I posted! You can add your own and see if it wins!

08/22/2023

Hey peoples!! I am new to TikTok. I know, I am late to the game! 🤣🤣 While smoking my before bed cig I got to thinking that I really should probably consider connecting with more people on there.

So - who’s got a TikTok and wants to do a follow for follow? 🤞🤞
I am going to have my smoke and scroll TikTok so if anyone follows me and doesn’t get a follow back right away - I will return all the follows tomorrow morning after work. ☺️🥱🛌😴

08/18/2023

🥰🥰 I have a feeling we are going to have a bit of fun with TikTok!

Check out Just a Girl And Her Bugs's video.

08/18/2023

Guess I have to learn ‘how to tiktok’ now! 🤷‍♀️🤣

Check out Just a Girl And Her Bugs's Story.

08/17/2023

A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patty Whack.

"Miss Whack, I'd like to get a $30,000 loan to take a holiday."

Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name. The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's okay, he knows the bank manager.

Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.

The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.

Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.

She finds the manager and says, "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral." She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what in the world is this?"

(You're gonna love this.)

The bank manager looks back at her and says, "It's a knickknack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."

(You sang it, didn't you? Yeah, I know you did.)

Never take life too seriously. Happy Thursday all.

★♫.•Pass it on!! Give someone else a reason to smile. ♫★

08/15/2023

Monarch Butterfly facts:

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are one of the well known butterflies on the planet, and for good reason. Not only are Monarchs striking to look at, but they also have the most highly evolved migratory pattern of any known butterfly or moth, possibly any insect. This makes sense due to the fact that Monarchs derive one of their common names from their migrations - The Wanderer. And wander they do while traveling between 1200 - 2800 miles (1932 - 4506 km) from as far north as Central Canada to mountainous-forest regions in central Mexico.

Unfortunately such a large migratory pattern also causes many points of human contact, and due to human interaction with their territory the Monarch is now listed as endangered.

Due to agricultural and urban development multiple millions of acres of milkweed habitat have been paved/removed. Milkweed is the only plant Monarchs will lay their eggs on, and the only food source for developing Monarch caterpillars. The amount of pesticides/herbicides also negatively impacts the health of this beautiful species.

Further south deforestation has destroyed much of their wintering habitats. In fact, the range of wintering Monarchs has dropped from 45 acres to just 5.5 acres between 1998-2023 - with a 22% decline from 2022 to 2023 alone.

Below is a link to the National Wildlife Federation’s list of 6 Ways to Save Monarchs - I highly encourage you to please take a look and try to do your part.

https://blog.nwf.org/2015/02/saving-monarchs/

Monarch butterflies are in trouble. Over the last few decades, populations of these iconic orange and black butterflies have declined by over 90 percent. The National Wildlife Federation is teaming … Read more

08/14/2023

😔 I have some sad news to share today…. Something I have been scared of, actually happened… one of my P. Audax mommas, Oreo, has crossed the rainbow web. 🫢🕷️🌈🕸️ She was wild caught and was already an old girl, nearing the end of her life when I found her. She was not very active and wasn’t the best climber due to losing grip. She built her nest and blessed me with what has turned out to be her last egg sac shortly after I took her in. Only some of the eggs hatched so there’s not a lot of babies from Oreo compared to a normal clutch. This was my second clue that it was almost her time. I’m thinking I may hold on to them a little longer than most clutches before adopting out so they come in to their personalities more so I know who my daughter and myself want to keep.

I’m sorry if I am not very responsive to posts and comments in the group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1364438604507115/?ref=share_group_link ) today. I will be working on more research and typing up information to post in the guides as a distraction from this loss. 😔

Thank you for the honor of caring for your last clutch Oreo. They will be loved and taken care of to the best of my ability until they move to their forever homes.

08/14/2023

Sometimes, we all need this reminder.

After losing a sibling, a parent, a child, or anyone close to you - nobody tells you that on a bright sunny day just driving down the road for no reason at all, tears will start to fall from your eyes out of nowhere. Nobody tells you that for minutes on end, your mind can and will put you right back in that time and place of the trauma of that loss and you can’t stop yourself from feeling it all over again. Feeling it so much that you have to literally try to snap yourself out of it, try to shake it off, and try to be convincing when you say to yourself "I'm going to be okay". Nobody tells you there is no time limit on grief.

Check on your people. You never know who needs a simple hello to save them from the moment they are in.

08/13/2023

🌞Good morning fellow bug lovers!

🐝 Buzz seems to really enjoy some dandelion! Switched it up from the usual Hibiscus flower and he went nuts for it! I just love this little guy so much! He is so cute and just loves to be out and on me. I can’t get enough of him!

Fun fact: Did you know that bees can remember the faces of humans who have helped them? I think that is just the coolest and explains why Buzz seems so fond of me! 🥰🥰🐝

08/11/2023

Good morning bug lovers!

🕷️Story time!!🕷️

Night before last, before the big storm hit, I found this juvenile Audax in a place it would not be safe. Wasn’t sure what to name it since I was taking it in. I decided yesterday when I found another it’s size in another spiders web as a meal that it will be called Otter because ’it otter be dead’ with where it was at. This is the base of it’s final enclosure which it is big enough to move into once it is completed and spider safe from glue fumes. I am so happy with how it’s turning out.
Would you just look at that cute little thing though?! It’s probably around i3 or i4 but there’s no way for me to know for sure. Also not yet sure of the s*x of this little one either. I do know that as well fed as it looks here, it ate about 5 fruit flies yesterday evening. I am hoping it goes into it’s next moult soon. 🤞

08/10/2023

Good morning bug lovers!
More pictures of Cayde the cutie to start your day!

08/10/2023

At work the other day and ended up needing to rescue this nest of newly hatched slings. They may or may not be jumpers. I thought they were at first but we will just have to see what they truly are. If they are jumpers, they will be available for adoption when they come of age. If they are not jumpers but you still want one, I will still adopt them out. Otherwise they will be raised til they are old enough and then released back into the wild.

08/09/2023

Just sharing some bug friends who have visited me at work this week. 🥰 I love when I get visits from random bugs at random moments.

08/09/2023

It saddens me to make this post but I want to keep things open and honest with everyone about owning jumping spiders and raising slings.
Wednesday was the sole survivor of a damaged clutch of Hannahs. I was doing all I could to help Wednesday thrive and survive. Unfortunately, moulting is quite stressful on spiders of any size. This past weekend, Wednesday suffered from a mismoult and did not survive. It’s a hard loss because of the struggles that were overcome by this tiny little thing. So much love for something so small.

Wednesday hatched on: 7-7-2023
Crossed the rainbow web on: 8-6-2023

08/09/2023

Cayde wants your help!

Now that the page is set up along with the group, we need everyone to show their support by liking the page and joining the group!
Can’t wait to see everyone there!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1364438604507115/?ref=share_group_link

08/07/2023

Buzz wants to say hello and show off his adorable little self. We had some sadness happen over the weekend and I will post about that sometime this week when it’s not so new.

08/06/2023

Represented Mission Phoenix again today for the big race with Odell Penton! Talked to some people this weekend to share the mission and now I need a shirt with the website on it *hint hint* 🤣🤷‍♀️

08/05/2023

Representing Mission Phoenix here in Nashville at the Music City Grand Prix. Josh A Gagnier I will be tomorrow as well! Just wanted to share because it’s NEVER a bad time or place to represent a great nonprofit. Don’t follow Mission Phoenix yet? You definitely should pop over to the page, check out what it’s all about, and give it a like/follow!