About The Little Invert
The Little Invert is where I document the tiny lives that are surprisingly easy to become completely absorbed in.
I keep and observe a growing collection of invertebrates – from unusual pet species to feeder insects that were supposed to have a very different fate.
What started with simply enjoying these animals has gradually turned into wanting to photograph them, learn more about them and record all the little things that are easy to miss: a fresh moult, a change in behaviour, a beetle appearing where there was once a grub, or an insect revealing far more personality than you might expect.
This site is where all of that ends up.
Invertebrates Without Live Prey
One of the main things I’m interested in is invertebrates that can be kept without feeding live prey.
There’s an enormous variety of insects and other invertebrates that are fascinating to keep without needing another animal on the menu. Some are bold and inquisitive, some spend half their lives pretending they don’t exist, and others become far more individual once you spend enough time watching them.
The Little Invert follows the species I keep, along with what I learn about their care, food, behaviour, enclosures and development.
You’ll find proper care articles on the Blog, alongside photographs and observations from actually keeping them.
The Ones That Were Meant to Be Food
A slightly different part of The Little Invert is dedicated to rescued feeder insects.
Crickets, locusts, cockroaches, mealworms and other feeder species are usually talked about in terms of what eats them. I became much more interested in what happens when they simply get to carry on living.
And quite a lot happens.
Mealworms become darkling beetles. Crickets moult and change. Cockroaches have their own habits and preferences. Individuals start becoming recognisable.
They might be common feeder insects, but that doesn’t make them uninteresting.
So some of the animals featured here are pets I deliberately chose to keep, while others are here simply because they were given a second chance.
Watching the Changes
A huge part of the appeal for me is seeing how much can change in such a small animal.
Moults, pupation, metamorphosis, growth, colour changes and the strange transitional stages in between are all things I want to document properly.
Sometimes that becomes a full article. Other times it’s simply something interesting I’ve noticed that day.
That’s where the Invert Journal comes in.
The Invert Journal
The Invert Journal is the less formal side of the site.
It’s where I can record new arrivals, rescues, moults, life stages, behaviour, enclosure changes and behind-the-scenes updates without every observation needing to become a full guide.
It means I can document the animals as they actually change over time rather than only writing about the finished result.
Still Learning
I don’t want The Little Invert to pretend that keeping invertebrates is a subject with every answer neatly figured out.
I research the species I keep carefully, but I’m also constantly learning through observation and experience. Husbandry changes, different keepers discover different things, and some species simply aren’t as well documented as others.
Where I know something, I’ll explain it as clearly as I can. Where something is uncertain, I’d rather say that too.
The aim is to build a site that is useful, detailed and genuinely interested in the animals themselves.
Have a Look Around
If you’re interested in unusual pets, feeder insects given another chance, metamorphosis, close-up observations or just the strange little details of invertebrate life, you should find plenty here.
You can explore the Blog for the more detailed articles, dip into the Invert Journal for day-to-day observations, or join the newsletter if you’d like to know when something new appears.