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smeg@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

Does “bug” have a technical definition? If so then it’s news to me and everyone who uses it to mean pretty much any small invertebrate (or microorganism, or software defect).

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NeelixBiederman@hexbear.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
“bug” is a technical definition, surprisingly

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- smeg@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  
  Entomologists reserve the term bug for Hemiptera or Heteroptera, which does not include other arthropods or insects of other orders such as ants, bees, beetles, or butterflies. In some varieties of English, all terrestrial arthropods (including non-insect arachnids and myriapods) also fall under the colloquial understanding of bug.
  
  Sounds like those entomologists should have tried a bit harder either in educating the masses or choosing names!
  
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  - YoiksAndAway@piefed.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    In my experience academics will often refer to hemiptera as “true bugs”, and not get too didactic about it other than that.
    
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  - Amnesigenic@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Not really fair to blame academics for common misuse of a term from their respective field, they’re all vastly outnumbered and people can be extremely stubborn when being corrected on terminology
    
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Bob_Odenkirk@hexbear.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Nah bugs are any little land creepy crawly, maybe an even slugs and snails.

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