Never Home Alone

Even in quarantine, the smaller majority is all around to keep us company.


In collaboration with scientists and natural history enthusiasts all over the world, we are engaged in an effort to document the life that lives with us in and around our homes. We’re not talking about our pets or the things we plant… but rather, all the critters that sneak in and make themselves at home, rent-free.

Some of the inspiration for this work came from taking a look at the insects we found inside a single bathroom light fixture. There was such a diversity of life preserved in there, right above our eyes, imagine what we could find if we actually looked for this more often?

Well right now that’s the goal of a project on iNaturalist! It’s called Never Home Alone: The Wild Life of Homes and it’s being spearheaded by the acclaimed scientist and author, Rob Dunn. You can make an account on iNaturalist, start taking photos of the little critters you find in and around your house, and then add them to the project for us to examine!

Never Home Alone: The Wild Life of Homes https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/never-home-alone-the-wild-life-of-homes

And here are links to two articles about this worldwide effort, which just surpassed 20,000 observations!

Stuck inside? Take your kids on an indoor safari! https://www.nationalgeographic.com/family/article/take-your-kids-on-an-indoor-safari-coronavirus

A Field Guide to the Miniature Menagerie Inside Your Own Home https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/insects-at-home