Finding WILD Invertebrates in Costa Rica! 

I was in Costa Rica and saw you filming with a frog by this little pond located near my room! It was so cool to see how knowledgeable and passionate you are about animals that, frankly, give most people the creeps. I figured you must be a RU-vidr, so immediately went to my room and typed “snake facts” into the search bar and found you easily on the first page. Watched a dozen videos that night - such great content! I remember seeing you on the first night I was there walking around “looking for snakes” and wondered what that was all about. Glad I was able to find out! Pura vida!

Thank you for checking back on Jerry/Jeffrey. SO satisfying to see the changes

Your moth is absolutely a hawk moth (Sphingidae)! It looks quite a bit like the Tetrio sphinx, Pseudosphinx tetrio. Also, the hermit crabs you show are Coenobita compressus (Ecuadorian hermit crab)!

I believe that what you call "inverting" is more properly known as "Enting", as the name for the study of invertebrates is Entomology, same as how Herping is part of Herpetology.

I just realized why I enjoy Emily and Ed while they tell us about the animals around us. I get some serious Steve Irwin vibes from them and It reminds me from when I was a kid throwing on animal planet to watch his 8am showing.

9:36 I know quite a bit about hermit crabs (I keep some myself) so I thought I'd share a little bit about them! This species of land hermit crab is known as the Ecuadorian (or Pacific) hermit crab. You can tell this because of the light tan brown coloration and the pill shaped eyes. Ecuadorian hermit crabs are one of two species often sold in the North America as pets. The other is the purple pincher (or Carribean) hermit crab (the ones that I keep!) The 40 year old crab that Emily mentions is most likely referring to Jonathon Livingston Crab who was purchased in 1976 (along with another crab, Crab Kate) and lived to be 45 years old and only passed earlier this year! There are quite a few articles about Jonathan that I encourage you to go read up about him! The breeding that Emily mentions was first done in the U.S by Mary Akers. It's been done a few other times by other people around the world, but Mary is the one I know of best. Every hermit crab sold in pet stores or gift shops is wild caught, but Mary is attempting to change this by adopting out her captive bred babies. Breeding hermit crabs is very difficult and the RU-vid channel Crab Central Station has many videos documenting their journey in attempting to breed land hermit crabs. Everything Emily says about the complexities of hermit crab care is very true. My oldest crab I've had for about 7 years and she lives with her two brothers in a 29 gallon tank (soon to be a 55 gal!). They are most certainly not disposable or "quick, easy to care for pets" and it's sad that they're often sold under such pretenses. If you want to own hermit crabs, please do your research and also try to adopt one. The Land Hermit Crab Association has a map on their website that shows people who are putting their crabs up for adoption. Craigslist and other websites are also good places to search for them. They're very fun pets though, and some are very energetic like they mention. Hamster wheels are quite common to place inside tanks though I've yet to get one myself. My crabs love to climb up their branches to the top of the tank and spend all night upside down on the screen lid haha

It was really cool to see Jeffrey/Jerry/Jennifer go from fresh out of the cocoon to a moth with fully formed wings! I'm sure you guys are seeing/saw so much amazing stuff in Costa Rica, I'm jealous! I hope you got some real vacationing in as well!😅

this video is so interesting to watch but also im terrified and grateful i live in an area with not very many large inverts. but they're cool to see! from a distance! through a screen!

OMG Emily and Ed you are at Costa Rica. I am so glad that you came to my country and were able to find some awesome invertebrates. Wish I can get to meet you two. :( Enjoy your vacation!!

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I heard that some crabs, like hermit crabs and coconut crabs diverged from their lobster relatives later than true crabs, just thought that was a cool fact. Also love the cyanide millipede and tailless whip scorpion you guys found.

I'm sorry, but, "Oh that ant has a whole flower!" Was said so adorably, I love it.

Female moths have smoother antenna similar to a butterfly, male moths have the big fuzzy antenna for picking up pheromones. You can tell females from males by the size of their abdomen as well, big and fat it's a girl, smaller and slimmer it's a boy. It's definitely some kind of hawk/sphinx moth or a white witch though looks a bit small for that. Next time try to get footage or pictures of the hind wing (the smaller one underneath) it should be colorful and is much more identifying for specific species.

I‘m really impressed how much Trips you can take now. Even when it‘s a lot of work at the Facility. You must have an amazing and trustworthy staff. Amazing!

I burst out into a laughing fit when Emily said she had crabs lol the realization of what she said 😂😂😂😂

"I have crabs!" Story time. When I was a teenager, I had hermit crabs, and I would babysit a lot. I let the kids I babysat watch the hermit crabs every time they were at my house. One day, I was dropping one of the kids off and he ran up the sidewalk, flung the door open and shouted for his mother (and the entirety of his block) to hear, "KATI'S GOT CRABS AND WE GOT TO PLAY WITH THEM." 🤦‍♀️ It's funny now, but it was nit at the time.

I like how Ed basically references to Ben & Jerry's icecream with naming those two invertebrates they briefly caught XD

Love how Emily names all the animals. Lol. Hope you guys had a safe trip.

I’m so glad y’all were able to go on vacation! Even though you’re still working, I know a vacation is much needed after all the stress of opening the facility!

I'm trying really hard to search for an ID for your moth finds, but I'm not having much luck... my best guesses right now are a White Witch Moth (Thysania agrippina) or a Florestan Sphinx Moth (Manduca florestan). Hopefully someone with more knowledge or better research skills can tell!

I'm so glad you're having such a good time Ed and Emily! So fun seeing those animals in their native habitat.

The crab was so cute! I hope you two had an amazing time here !

I’m actually attempting to breed my hermit crabs! I had 4 but sadly 2 of them passed away, 1 of them was a land crab, and the other was a tree hermit crab and I had them housed together (and that worked completely fine!) but they were the two that sadly had painted shells. The other two are living well and actually are starting to show some breeding behaviors, they might actually be breeding!

We are currently in Costa Rica for our holidays, can't wait to see the inverts/reptiles mentioned or maybe show off some facts I've heard here c:

I love crabs! A blue land crab lived in my backyard when I was in high school. When we had fruit or veg that was about to go off, I’d chop it up and put it in front of the crab’s burrow. She would dig through it, eat what she liked most and leave the rest, then birds (and I’m sure raccoons later) would finish off what she didn’t eat. She loved her salads and if we went too long without feeding her, she would come tap on the back sliding door with her claw. It drove the dogs mad. In the spring there’s a spot my kid and I go to and watch the little fiddler crabs do their little mating dances. They wave their big claw in the air to show off for the ladies and scare off the other guys. Hundreds and hundreds of them just waving and dancing away. It’s so funny.

I never leave comments, but I finally must!! You guys!!!! I've been a loyal subscriber from the depths of wild goldfish (the BEGINNING, the very blossoming thousands of followers) now look at this beautiful success!! You are so deserving of every moment of it. Each staff and crew! I absolutely love this episode! I'm an absolute invertebrate lover! Amblypygi is my all time favorite! And, your excellent information on the Halloween crab, was awesome to learn! I can't applaud y'all enough for giving this chance encounter to a Nebraskan gal, unable to enjoy otherwise!

I went to Costa Rica for my honeymoon with my hubby to go birding. It was amazing. Staying near the volcano hot springs it was beautiful

Oh yeah, that was totally a type of hawk moth.They have a particular face. It is odd for a moth but yeah they can hold there wings up like that. I see them do it often when there agitated or just landing. One of my fave type of moths, there all just so easy going and docile. That long wiggly butt though

I'm Costa Rican and it's awesome to see you guys appreciating the local wildlife :)

This is so amazing! I went to Costa Rica in 2007 on a high school trip with my AP Environmental Science class. It was so amazing. We hiked through the rainforest, went to the cloud forest in the mountains and saw so many birds, reptiles, and insects along the way! I loved it so much

This was awesome! Be proud of having crabs. They're critically endangered due to loss of habitat.

"-Do you think it will bite me? -Go for it" Relationship goals lmao

Your timing on finding that moth (or whoever) is incredible! What a cool moment in its life cycle to witness!

I really love this channel, emily has such amazing tips and tricks when it comes to reptiles, and the presentation of the videos, i love it. Keep it up emily :D

YOU ARE ON MY HOME COUNTRY!!! Oh my gosh I hope you enjoy your stay! You are definitely in the right place for invertabrates and reptiles, enjoy!

The Halloween crab was so cute especially when it went under Ed's shoe :D

Hello from Costa Rica! 👋🏻 Didn't know you were here but I hope you enjoyed/enjoy your stay. If you were near Guanacaste (north zone) that's probably a hawk moth or pseudosphinx tetrio but I'm not sure. I'm more into tarantulas 🤣.

That would be so cool 😩. I wish the uk had more native reptiles and inverts and stuff.

Woohoo! Thank you for this!

Ed's yell of terror when the grasshopper jumped on him was one of the funniest moments of 2021. It was surprise mixed with resignation like "wow, this is how I die."

This was much cooler than I thought it would be. 😀 The tailless scorpion……no thanks. Nope. I’ll never be a keeper of those. I was fascinated by the moth (or whatever it was). I never knew that their body fluid went into their wings. That was amazing to learn. Thank you!🐍❤️🐍

This is will be nice because it always feels like we are there and what to expect. The best part is starting at the beach. Me and crabs don't get along since I was digging a hole sideways and one just startled me by going right in and had to go dig another one

I just have to say that I have been binge watching your older videos (I always go to the very first video and watch from old to new when I find a new channel I love) and this is just something I need to say. you have given me so much educational information on reptiles and I appreciate it. don't get me wrong...personally, I would never get a snake as a pet. I have an irrational fear of frogs (since I was a child) and in turn, snakes and other reptiles/amphibians were all lumped into that. I'm not saying that I will get over these fears overnight, but baby steps into eventually going to see snakes in person maybe. if I can ever overcome my fear of frogs, I will be amazed. that one is like built into my DNA at this point. but thank you so much for all the educational videos and helping me understand the side of snakes I never knew about!

seeing as you found a lot of crabs you could call it crabbing. i think its the correct term for finding aquatic crabs. idk if it is the same for land crabs tho

That’s so cool I love inverts!

Omg this is the video I never knew I needed. Thanks for visiting and showcasing the land of my ancestors!

The Moth is a female. The males are usually smaller with HUGE fluffy antennae to pick up pheromones. The female are MUCH larger and often don't fly far beyond their host plants. they just sit there and spew out chemicals for the guys to follow with their big fluffy antennae.

Hi my name is Brayten I'm 11 years old, and I just got a corn snake earlier today. I enjoy watching your videos they really make my day😊.

Hope you guys enjoyed your vacation! It must be nice to go from crappy winter weather to temps warm enough to be out in only a t-shirt. I’m envious of your lack of winter coats.

for my 7th or 8th birthday, i got pet land hermit crabs. I dont know what species, but they looked very similar to the ones you guys found. I originally got one, but my mom did a bit of research on them and found they live longer and happier lives in groups, so she got two more for my two sisters. I named mine hermie (because it was a hermit crab and i was an unoriginal child), one of my sisters named hers rocky (due to his rough and grey shell), and my other sister named hers honey (since his shell had a spot of black that looked like oozing honey). Judging by their sizes, i think hermie was a female while rocky and honey were males. They never bred, through, so im still unsure. Anyways, the research my mom did said they’d live for a few months at most, but they ended up living for nearly two years instead, and were the adored class pet of my second grade class for the tail end of the year. Seeing this video, though, i think we were very misinformed for how to care for them and i wish i could go back and give them better lives (a few mistakes we made was a small case, dry enclosure, etc.)

I used to breed the locust calley Phymateus aegrotus and since then I have a huge soft spot for for giant grasshoppers. Love your videos and bow you bring positive attention to otherwise very unpopular animals. Your Jeffrey is a moth, I dont know the species, but he is actually a she, as far as I know only male moths have those feathered antennas. It also got a very big abdomen in comparison to its body, but I can't tell what species it is.

I love how her energy is showing that she’s not afraid of anything

My grandma is actually from costa rica so it was really cool to see the different types of creatures from her home place and my favorite was the Halloween crab I like all the different colors and how it looks

I seriously thought you were saying Taylor Swift Scorpion, not tail-less whip scorpion. XD

Super cool to see the newly-hatched moth as it grew out its wings!! I wonder if the filming you did for this particular species might be really helpful data to actual Costa Rican etymologists??? I mean, also totally possible that this thing is super-common and un-interesting as squirrels in the midwest.... But still! I'd be interested to learn more about why it's so hard to breed hermit crabs in captivity - do they need larger enclosures than most people give them? Do they need to hear the ocean? We learned during the lockdowns that pandas need silence to want to breed. It may be something like that that people haven't thought of or aren't able to replicate (without huge effort). Absolutely mesmerized by the idea of hermit crabs on hamster wheels, I'm gonna go look that up now!

Hi snake discovery I know you probably won’t see this but yesterday and today I was sick and whenever you posted this I got so much happier

Hello guys, I am so happy you visited my country, even for vacations or conservation purposes please visit us more often, we have a lot of reserch facilities and museams that show all the cool reptiles and insects we have, and you will enjoy the great views. We well love that more people like you appreciate the biodiversity we have to offer also if you want to escape from winter. Thank yopu very much for coming and enjoy you trip. Hugs and have a good coffee ;)

You should go to Puerto Rico sometime! There’s a bunch of wildlife here, specially reptiles like iguanas and lizards :D

cool i would love to see them i love reptiles and invertebrates love your videos

I love your child-like enthusiasm it's so infectious. I've been hooked since the first vid I watched many months ago.

I love how you guys use your vacation to teach and show the rest of us some cool species. Thank you. Hope you had a safe trip. =)

*Emily and Ed:* Find cool invertebrates in Costa Rica for the first time. *Me:* Find freaking bedbugs in my bathroom in Buenos Aires for the first time. Ah, well

Wait, so I came to Minnesota to the zoo and you went to Costa Rica????? I left my country to hopefully see you guys, can't believe that as soon as I left you visited my home. What is this? 🤣

Emily you're so adorable when you're herping/inverting. I love how excited and passionate you get when you talk about whatever species you've found. Hope you and Ed are staying safe and cozy this chilly winter. Stay safe and hope you had a Merry Christmas, all the best for 2022 aka: 2020 Part 3 :D

2:42 "I'm gonna bring a leaf!" That got me!

Am I the only one who heard Emily say "Taylor Swift scorpion" instead of "Tailless Whip Scorpion"? I expected it to look very different for some reason🤦‍♀

That's a big grasshopper! I would freaking run if I saw that thing jump at me.

Oh I was hoping Emily would mention how hermit crabs when they are needing a new shell 🐚 and find one too big they will wait and line up by size and wait for other crabs to come “try” on the shell. Once the big shell fits a crab each crab “upgrades”their shells.

That was a great video. Thank you Ed and Emily for allowing us on your vaca with you. You guys are awesome 👌 ❤🙂❤🙂

Costs Rica Is amazing. Though I almost stepped on a baby ferdelance which was a... interesting experience

Omg I thought you said Taylor Swift Scorpion instead of Tailless Whipscorpion and I was so confused🤣🤣

I had an obsession with hermit crabs when I was in elementary school. It was my dream at the time to own one. I borrowed the library's only hermit crab care book for two years, constantly re renting it out as I would ask if anyone else needed it. Since no one did, I kept it pretty much. It was my favorite book. Only recently did I remember and re kindle my love for hermit crabs, but I'm much smarter than I used to be. Maybe I can give one a good home. But I'll do more research than that 20 page book

1:22 the crab is me whenever i’m in a social situation that i wanna get out of

Hi snake discovery! I am Jazmine and I just got a new baby corn snake. I kind of want to know some more about it, so maybe can you do a video about taking care of corn snakes. That would be really nice

Emily got crabs in Costa Rica. Now she has something in common with my cousin =D

Crab: scuttling across sidewalk. Ed: Look, a crab in native habitat!

I’ve never been into invertebrates but they seem cooler now that I’ve watched this… I never knew that there are so many of them! That moth and grasshopper are SO cool! Never knew there was that big of them!

Hi Emily and Ed. I hope you guys are having fun. I was wondering if you guys have opend my package i have not seen it in any of your fan mail opening and I think is sent June 2020 or June 2021 so and it is a box with blue duck tape. And it is from Idaho. I really hope you have it and that is did not get lost in shipping. Also I love your videos thank you for posting.

Me and my ex had a tailess whip and honestly she's was lovely. Totally harmless but looks like something from actual hell. You found a pretty small one - looks like a young female idk. They are also so fast when they move its known as "teleporting"

That was so awesome! The grasshopper was my fav as I used to catch them as a kid and thought they were so awesome! My favorite movie is Lady Hawk ( made in the 80’s ).

3:04 moths being my fav inset is just MAKING ME GO AWWWWWWWW AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Thank you guys for being such a positive influence on this generation like Steve Irwin was for mine. Your love for animals is infectious - keep it up.

Aww the Halloween Crab was so cute!!!

I'm super grateful for these kinds of vids bc I find it fascinating to observe ANYTHING. if I KNOW it won't fly or walk on me I have no problem with it. Even if I find it creepy or gross. So in other words I wouldn't be able to do this sorta thing myself - so it's cool to watch folks who know what they're doing!

I love the grasshopper and I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDD THAT MOTH. So fuzzy, so squishy, so magestic.

I think my favorite was The Majestic Ed and Emily in their natural herping habitat😁

Man I love bugs and snakes so much. Loved watching this. Emily is truly my spirt animal.

Omg in from Costa Rica! It makes me so exited and happy seeing people talking about us, thx for visiting, hope you enjoyed

Emily and Ed Id love to show you around the Ontario region thats around Ottawa, Canada! Some great birding, inverting, and herping here especially in the greenbelt and forested areas!

So brave!!! My husband and I saw one of those grasshoppers while we were there and thought “that’s what nightmares are made of”.

the Namjoon energy radiating from Emiley's excitement over cute lil crabs

Awesome to watch both of you enjoying your vacations in my country!! 😍😍🤩🤩

I've heard that hermit crabs that find a good shell they can't fit into will line up in order of size, then they each trade up one shell so everyone gets a new home

So we are just going to gloss over the big centipede/millipede I love how gentle you are when picking up all these creatures or invertebrates

I adopted three hermit crabs from a neighbor who was moving. They LOVE they’re hamster wheel. At night I can hear them going on their little walks. They’re favorite treats are popcorn or plain Chex cereal lol. They all go nuts for the stuff.

Two RU-vid channels that always make my day: Snake Discovery and Batzilla (from Australia).

Eeeeeeee!!!!! MOTHS! YASSSS! (Sorry… I really… really… really love moths) Moths typically have big heads and thorax with “leg warmers” and their antennae can be “fuzzy”

Emily: Goes exploring at night Costa Rica: It is time for Crab 🦀

i love how the grasshopper just kind of was like aight i guess you're not gonna eat me since it's been a while... gently crawls off

Now I have crabs 🦀 I am sorry to laugh so hard at that. But, I am dying of laughter. 🤣🤣🤣 Great video guys keep up the amazing work.

Tailless whip spiders are native to almost all subtropical and tropical regions of the world, as well as some temperate areas. They are more prevalent in forests with lots of floor cover and in caves. They are all nocturnal, though, so "invert" for them at night if you want to spot them on the move, not just hiding. They are incredibly good at hiding in narrow crevices. My favorite species is here in Florida in the northern part of the state, Damon Diadema. They have a neat cephalothorax structure that looks like little spines or horns, like the crown they are named for.